


The Roommate

by SchwarzePandaKatze



Series: SwanQueenWeek2015 (AU) [2]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Day 2 - Roommate, F/F, Swan Queen - Freeform, Swan Queen Week 2015, awkward Regina, funny and awkward, swanqueenweek
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-27
Updated: 2016-01-02
Packaged: 2018-03-09 05:54:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 48,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3238787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SchwarzePandaKatze/pseuds/SchwarzePandaKatze
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>SwanQueenWeek - Day 2: Roommate</p><p>Regina was sitting in Kathryn’s apartment while reading a book. She appreciated the quite. In her own apartment building were construction worker hammering, drilling and shouting. She couldn’t handle it anymore. First she wanted to move to a hotel, but her best friend Kathryn had offered she could stay at her place. She was gone for two weeks, going on a trip with her boyfriend and didn’t need the space anyway.</p><p>Only catch: Kathryn was living with a roommate.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Enjoy SwanQueenWeek \^.^/  
> Day 2 - Roommate
> 
> (sorry I'm not a native speaker and I didn't have a beta-reader)

The Roommate 

Regina was sitting in Kathryn’s apartment while reading a book. She appreciated the quite. In her own apartment building were construction worker hammering, drilling and shouting. She couldn’t handle it anymore. First she wanted to move to a hotel, but her best friend Kathryn had offered she could stay at her place. She was gone for two weeks, going on a trip with her boyfriend and didn’t need the space anyway.

Only catch: Kathryn was living with a roommate. 

That roommate was living with Kathryn for a month. Regina hadn’t met her yet, every time she had come over, said roommate weren’t there. According to Kathryn she was friendly and good-looking. Not much of a talker, but at least she was nice enough to patiently listen to Kathryn’s extravagant stories she liked to tell. Regina knew from her own experience how tiring it could sometimes be to listen to the talkative blonde. 

Not for the first time today was she wondering what kind of person this mysterious roommate might be. Since her arrival this morning, where she said goodbye to Kathryn, she waited to meet the person Kathryn had chose to live with. Regina was still sulky that Kathryn hadn’t included her in the choice, they usually valued each other’s opinion and shared their deepest secrets. But Kathryn couldn’t handle to live alone, she needed someone to be around, especially at night. Kathryn had seen too many Horror Movies in her youth and was sure that a young beautiful woman like her would definitely be haunted by ghosts if she was living alone.

Regina shook her head in memory of the talk she had had with Kathryn about the whole living-alone-as-woman-conversation. It was still hard to suppress the eye roll while thinking about that conversation. 

The watch in the living room showed 8:36 PM. Regina was sure, that the roommate would arrive soon. But until then, she sat in the comfortable, pillow stuffed place at the window Kathryn was so proud of. 

She was so absorbed in her book that she startled at the sound of keys turning around in the lock and she almost let her book fall to the floor. Regina regained her composure right in time before the roommate entered the living room. 

She was definitely good-looking, Kathryn was right about that, although she looked tired and exhausted. She had long blonde hair, just like her friend, but wore it as a ponytail. Blue jeans, a red leather jacket and a white top underneath.

“Hi” the unknown roommate said in surprise. She looked like she hadn’t expected someone to be there. Maybe Kathryn had forgotten to tell her about Regina staying here for a couple of days. The roommate looked her over with suspicious in her eyes and Regina managed to waken from her rigor.

“Hey. I’m Regina, Kathryn’s friend.” Regina said in while stretching out her hand for a handshake. 

Realization dawned on the blonde. “Right. The one who is crashing here for a while.” She stepped forward and took Regina’s hand in her own to shake it. “I’m Emma.”

“Nice to meet you Emma. I hope you don’t mind that I will be staying here for a couple of days.” They broke their handshake and Emma made a ‘never mind’ gesture. “No problem at all. Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m not up for a chat right now. I had to take a double shift today and I’m tired as hell.” Emma said apologizing.

Regina glanced at the watch, 11:51 PM, she hadn’t noticed that is has gotten so late. She could indeed see the fatigue of the other woman, although she had wished to talk to her for a while, but she understood the natural desire of sleep. “Of course, go ahead. It’s not like we won’t see each other again.” Regina said in a light and sympathetic tone.

The blonde smiled relieved. “Well, good night then.”

“Good night Emma.”

*********************************************************

The following days Regina couldn’t avoid but notice how beautiful Emma was. When Emma was coming home, she wore her hair in a ponytail, but she soon switched and let her hair fall free around her shoulders. Regina decided she liked it more when her hair was loose, that was until she once saw Emma with curled hair. Her beauty increased by 1000% with these curls. And then there were those eyes. Regina hadn’t noticed them at first. Well of course she had noticed that Emma had eyes, but she hadn’t seen the variety of colors. There was a hint of brown around her pupils which faded into green and at the edge it switched to blue. Regina was intrigued how the colors changed depending on the lightning. 

Regina was happy the days Emma decided to wear a tank top, that way she could see those strong biceps and how the muscles flexed while Emma was carrying something. And it seemed like Emma only owned skinny jeans, which didn’t bother Regina because the view she got while Emma turned her back on her was excellent. 

Several times she caught the blonde sleeping on the couch while the television was still on. She couldn’t get herself to wake her, too peaceful was Emma’s face while sleeping. She liked the way her breathing was calm and serene and somehow it relaxed Regina just listening to the steady breathing. 

It was not just her appearance that captured Regina. They spent a few evenings eating and talking together. Regina could sense, that there was more to the stories Emma was willing to tell. She could see the conflict behind those magnificent eyes whenever Regina asked something about Emma’s past. She felt the urge to know what was troubling the other woman, why she didn’t want to talk about particular topics, why she was avoiding eye contact and subtle changed to another more comfortable topic. 

Every day she felt more drawn to the woman she was temporarily living with. She was somehow glad that one night Kathryn had send a short text to let her know, that she was coming back sooner than expected, they had had some issues on the trip and decided to come home earlier. Kathryn hadn’t said why they canceled the trip so Regina could only guess. 

Regina got up at 8:00 AM as usual, dressed and made her way to the kitchen. Emma was already gone for work by this time, so they were never eating breakfast together. Regina often wondered if Emma was eating properly in the morning. 

The thought of Emma on her mind disappeared as Regina saw the half hidden figure behind the door of the fridge who rummage through the fridge. She immediately recognized the black and white blouse. It was one Kathryn had found on one of their various shopping tours. She was still envious that Kathryn had seen it sooner.

Regina left her purse on one of the kitchen chairs and smiled. Finally her best friend was back from her trip. “Was about time you came back Kathryn.” She said while turning her back to the person who was still rummage through the fridge. “You should have told me that Emma was such a beauty” she said while grabbing two mugs from the shelf, placing them on the counter in front of her. “I mean, seriously, have you seen her in her tank tops, those arms…” she shook her head, still not sure why a woman’s arms had such an effect on her. “I thought of buying some new furniture just to ask her to carry them to my apartment so I could see more of those muscles she has.” Regina looked out of the window, imagining Emma carrying some heavy stuff. The rummage behind her had stopped, that was a good sign, it meant Kathryn paid attention to her. “and those tight jeans…the other day she dropped something and bend down to pick it up, her ass, goddammit, have you seen her ass?” She poured coffee, which was standing right next to her, in both mugs. “and one day I caught her in the bathroom with just a towel around herself, I wish she had dropped it” she said with a sigh. 

There was still no response from the other woman and Regina was unnerved that her talkative best friend hadn’t said anything by now. “Seriously Kathryn are you even liste..” she turned around and saw a blonde leaning against the fridge with a smut smirk on her face. It just wasn’t the one blonde she had expected it would be. 

Open-mouthed she stood there and stared. _Oh no. No no no no no._ Did she really say all those things in the presence of this one particular person? 

“Do you think Kathryn does mind that I borrowed a blouse from her? I spilled something on my last clean shirt and needed to change.” Emma said with a wide grin on her face. She was clearly enjoying this moment. 

No way. Emma was never there for breakfast. This couldn’t be, right? Regina wished nothing more then just to wake up from this horrible dream. She had just made a fool out of herself. The seconds stretched like hours and Regina couldn’t think of doing or saying anything to trivialize this situation. 

She realized that she was still gawking at the blonde, making herself an even bigger fool by every second that went by.

Regina freaked out and acted in a blink of an eye. She grabbed her purse, mumbling something about she had to go and ran out of the apartment. 

She could **never ever** visit Kathryn again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **I broke the shackles I'm free!**  
>     
> Translation: I finally finished a paper for university I had difficulties with and had brushed aside several times. After my third try I finally managed to write some nonsense on paper and hopefully I will pass. Now after I finished my last course I should focus on my thesis…  
> BUT I decided I owe myself a break, so the next days I will update more SwanQueen stuff ;-)

“Stop laughing!” Regina demanded. Kathryn held up her hands in defense, but couldn’t stop laughing. “You really told her that she has an awesome ass?” Kathryn managed to ask. 

“I didn’t say awesome.” Regina muttered “my accurate words were ‘have you seen her ass?’” 

Kathryn burst out in laughter again. “This is hilarious.” 

“Shut up!” Regina took one of her couch pillows and threw it at Kathryn. It hit her right in the face, but her best friend didn’t stop laughing. She already regretted the decision to tell her friend about the stupid mistake she had made. “This is your entire fault!” 

“My fault?” Kathryn bristled theatrical at this accusation. 

“Yes! You said you would be back earlier. Now she thinks I’m a crazy-sex-addicted-lunatic.” Regina whined. She poured herself another glass of wine and emptied half of it in one swing. 

Kathryn suppressed a smile at the phrase, her friend had used to describe herself. “So you want to have sex with my very attractive roommate. No big deal.” She tried to calm Regina. “Come over, have hot lesbian sex with her and we can go back to have our weekly meetings in my apartment.” 

Regina glared at her over the edge of her wineglass. “That wasn’t the plan.” Regina muttered. “I don’t want her to think I’m just after her body.” 

Kathryn filled her own glass with the tasty red wine Regina had offered to drown her sorrows. “Wait, there was a plan?” She asked, suddenly interested what was going on in Regina’s head. 

“No…just…” Regina began but stopped herself and looked unsure to Kathryn. 

“Just what?” 

“Nothing.” Regina murmured into her glass. 

Kathryn sat a little closer to Regina. “Come on. Tell me.” She pleaded. Regina rolled her eyes, a habit Kathryn was too familiar with. “Please.” 

Regina rearranged herself on the couch so she was facing Kathryn. “I thought after you came back from your trip, the three of us could go out together, do something fun…” Kathryn nodded and encouraged Regina to go on. “…after half an hour or so you would fake that you got a call from your boyfriend and that you have to go, leaving Emma and me alone…” Kathryn hid her smile behind her wine glass. “…The two of us would have a great time and afterwards, I could tell her that it was nice and the two of us should do this again. She would agree to that and then we could go out and have lunch together or dinner. She would get to know me, see what a wonderful person I am and a lot more dinner dates would follow.” 

“You have a total crush on her.” Kathryn was unable to hide her smile any longer. 

“I do not.” But Regina’s voice sounded higher than usual and she drank the rest of her wine to blame the drink for her blushing red cheeks. Regina put her empty glass down and refilled it. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter. Thanks to **you** , she thinks I’m a maniac. Besides I don’t know if she is into women.” 

“I could ask her.” Kathryn offered. 

“Don’t you dare…” 

“What? I will just ask her if she likes to suck on a dick or a clit. When the answer is to your satisfaction, you can ask her out.” 

Regina’s jaw dropped down and some of the wine landed on the coffee table instead of her glass. “You will not ask her **THAT**!” 

“I will put it a little more delightful.” Kathryn said with a wink. 

“ **No!** I do not want your interference in this matter. Stay out of it!” She left the living room to get something to remove the wine from her coffee table. When she re-entered the room, Kathryn had this mischievous smile on her face. “Kathryn, I warn you. Do **not** talk to her.” 

“Why not? I could help you. I could be your wingman – or winggirl. Or whatever it is called.” 

“Last time you tried to help me it ended in a disaster.” Regina remarked dryly while she cleaned her coffee table. 

“That was in high school!” 

“And I’m still not over the disgrace you put me through!” Regina stated. 

“Oh come on, it wasn’t that bad. Besides we are both grown woman now, we…” 

“Leave it! Or I will tell your mom about that night you had with James in high school.” 

Kathryn gasped. “You wouldn’t.” 

“Try me.” Regina challenged. 

“You promised me you would never talk about that night again.” Kathryn protested. 

“You will **not** talk to Emma. You will **not** make any hints. You will **not** interfere in any way. And I promise I will **not** talk about that night again.” 

“Fine!” Kathryn said with a pout. “But don’t you dare bring that name up again.” 

***************************************************** 

It was late and Regina had changed into her night gown. It was eight days ago that she had met with Kathryn and she hadn’t brought up this thing with Emma. Regina was relieved that her empty threat had quiet her best friend. 

Regina was dying to know if Emma was into women, but she was too scared that Kathryn would babble something that would embarrass herself. Not that she hasn’t embarrassed herself enough by her own doing. 

She kind of missed the time she was living with Emma. Emma was nice and funny and had this habit of making her smile. It had been nice to have dinner with someone and Emma wasn’t as bad at cooking as she claimed. After dinner, Emma would watch TV, while Regina was reading and the comments she heard from the blonde about the series she watched, had made her smile behind her book. Regina had enjoyed the company of her a lot. 

Regina sighed. She hasn’t seen Emma since she fled from Kathryn’s apartment. That was twelve days ago. The next encounter they would have would probably be enormously awkward and Regina was determined to avoid Emma until the world collapsed. 

She was about to settle in bed with a new book when someone knocked at her door. Regina frowned and looked at her alarm clock on her nightstand. It was far too late for visitors and she didn’t expect someone, so she decided to ignore the knocking. A few seconds later the knocking sounded again, a bit louder than before. 

Regina put on her robe and walked to the door. She didn’t have a spyhole in her door so she was forced to open the door to see who was knocking. 

A happy smiling Emma greeted her on the other side. 

Regina slammed the door shut. Her heart stood still and her breath was caught in her lungs. She put her forehead against the wooden door. Emma was not standing at her door and she didn’t just hit the door in her face. 

Through the closed door she heard an uncertain voice. “…uhm… Regina?” 


	3. Chapter 3

“…uhm… Regina?” Emma’s uncertain voice sounded through the closed door. 

Regina’s mind spun like crazy. She hadn’t invited Emma. Did Kathryn say something to her? Told her to go and have hot lesbian sex with Regina? Was Emma drunk and wanted a confirmation how desperate Regina was to feel those arm muscles? How should she explain that she slammed the door shut? 

“Regina?” a worried Emma asked through the door. 

She had to open that stupid door and face Emma. Slowly she breathed out and took a quick look in the mirror, which was right next to the door. She smoothed her robe out and with a slightly trembling hand she put the handle down and opened the door. 

“Hi.” Emma said with a weak smile. “Guess you forgot about me.” 

“No, no, I didn’t. What are you doing here?” At that moment she saw the bag, which was standing right next to Emma. Regina frowned. What was that supposed to mean? Was Emma like one of those ‘U-Haul-Lesbians’? Moving in without really knowing the other person. Wait, did that mean Emma was a lesbian? 

“Didn’t Kathryn tell you?” 

“Tell me what?” Regina asked confused. 

“Early this morning there was a problem with our pipe system. The water doesn’t run down the pipes because something is blocking it. The whole building stinks like a purification plant and they cut the water off so that it wouldn’t flood back into the apartments. They said it would take two days to fix it. Kathryn told me, that you said it was okay if I would stay with you until we can go back to our apartment.” 

Regina’s eyes grew wide at the realization that Kathryn had trapped her into letting Emma stay in her apartment. 

“You didn’t know.” Emma noticed, her shoulders slumped down and her happy smile from before vanished. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have come over. It’s late and I’m probably bothering you.” She grabbed her bag and turned around. 

“Wait.” Regina hastily said while holding Emma’s arm so she couldn’t walk away. “Of course you can stay. I was just a little surprised, that’s all.” Regina said with what she hoped would be a reassuring smile. 

“Obviously Kathryn didn’t tell you about me staying over and I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable and force you into taking me in.” Emma said with a sad smile. Her eyes were filled with hurt of being rejected and Regina wanted to take the pain away. 

“Kathryn knows me, she knew I would let you stay over. She probably just forgot to text me about it. Come on in.” Before Emma could argue she pulled her inside and closed the door. “The couch in the living room is pretty comfortable.” She took a few steps towards the living room but stopped when Emma didn’t follow. 

“You don’t have to let me stay.” 

As Regina looked back to Emma, she could swear that she saw a stray, lost puppy instead of woman. Her heart clenched at the thought that she was responsible for this because of her careless reaction at the door. She didn’t want Emma to believe she was unwanted. 

She walked back to Emma and shoved her into the living room. “I know my couch is not a 4-star bed, but you will see that it is very comfortable. How about a glass of wine and you tell me how your day was?” 

She left Emma standing in the living room while she rushed into the kitchen without waiting for an answer. Regardless if Emma wanted some wine or not, Regina needed it to cope with this situation, a lot of it. 

While Regina uncorked the wine she summed all her fails up: First: There was the total awkward moment when she had accidentally mistook Kathryn and Emma and ended up making a fool of herself by telling Emma how sexy she was. Second: She had fleet the apartment and never came back or apologized and she hadn’t given any explanation for her odd behavior. Third: She had just slammed the door in Emma’s face. 

Regina sighed in frustration. She hadn’t really thought how to solve the first two problems and now she needed a solution within 5 minutes. Well, she wasn’t really friends with Emma and they had only met when Regina had moved in for a few days, so it actually wasn’t that strange to not see or talk to each other for two weeks. She could just say that the construction on her building had been finished and she hasn’t seen Emma to say goodbye. Unfortunately that was a lie and by tomorrow morning Emma would know when she would see the construction workers. Maybe she should just draw a veil of silence over the topic. Or she could tell that she got sick and had to go to the hospital. But what kind of illness would she fake? She needed something simpler. But what? And even if she found an explanation of why she had suddenly disappeared, she still needed an explanation why she had talked about Emma’s ass the way she did. Oh Gosh… Even thinking about that incident made her blush in embarrassment. Maybe she could just say she had been high on drugs, no that sounded too much like a criminal. High on meds? That sounded like she was mentally unstable. 

“Do you need help in the kitchen?” 

Regina almost jumped out of her skin and by a hair’s breadth the wine bottle would have shattered on the floor. Her breath was irregular, as was her heartbeat. Was her heart still in her chest? Probably not. 

“No, I’m fine.” 

She was so not fine. She still didn’t have an excuse. Emma would be sleeping in her apartment tonight. More precisely, she would sleep _two_ nights here. 

Quickly she retrieved two wineglasses, joggling them both in one hand, while the other hold the wine bottle. Regina took one last deep breath to ease her nerves before she left the kitchen. As she re-entered the living room, Emma was inspecting one of her bookshelves. 

“You sure read a lot.” Emma said with a smile while she walked to the couch where Regina had sat down and was pouring in the wine into the glasses. 

“One of my favorite pastimes.” 

“What are the others?” 

“I like to take walks. Cooking, and I like to groom the herbs I use for the dishes. I wish I had a garden so I could plant some vegetables.” 

“How does it come I haven’t knew that till now?” 

“That’s because you had just asked me about my favorite TV series and movies.” Regina said while lifting her glass to clink glasses with Emma. 

“At least I now know why you don’t watch TV. You have a whole library in your living room.” 

Regina chuckled as the glasses jingled and they both took a sip of wine. Okay, maybe Regina took a little bit more than just a sip. 

“So how was your day?” 

“You mean beside from being chased out of my apartment this morning?” Emma grimaced. “Well I had a double shift today. Which reminds me, do you mind if I take a shower? I must stink like a skunk.” 

It was true, Emma’s scent lingered in the room, but it wasn’t unpleasant. On the contrary, it was quite intoxicating and made Regina even a little dizzy. It wasn’t a perfume or a shampoo, it was just Emma. That fact alone made Regina lightheaded. 

“Sure, go ahead. You can use my shampoo if you want.” 

“Thanks.” Emma stood up, put her still full glass on the table and walked to her bag. She grabbed some clothes and smiled thankfully at Regina before she halted at the door. 

“Where exactly is the bathroom?” 

“Right here.” Regina left the living room, walked to the door right next to it and opened it for Emma to see the bathroom. “The kitchen is at this end of the floor and at the other end is my bedroom.” She pointed down the floor. 

“Thanks.” Emma replied before she slipped into the bathroom and closed the door. 

Regina emptied her glass in one big swig before she hurried to her own room and closed the door behind her. She rushed to her phone and dialed Kathryn’s number. Regina growled when only the mailbox greeted her, but she still left a message while she retrieved a sheet, a blanket and a pillow. “Why didn’t you tell me Emma was going to stay over? Have you never heard of giving someone a heads up? Really Kathryn, what were you thinking?” 

She tossed the phone at her bed and growled again. She would definitely bring up James again to annoy Kathryn. 

Emma would be sleeping in her apartment tonight. Right now she was showering. Soaping her naked body. Touching her bare breasts. Her hands wandering down to... 

Oh Gosh…How should she be able to survive this. 

Wine. She needed more wine. 

With her arms full she walked back to the living room, but instead of turning the sofa into a bed, Regina poured herself another glass of wine and drowned it. 

She could hear the water of the shower and tried desperate not to think about the blonde’s naked body. Regina focused intently on the task before her. Soon the sheet covered the sofa and she smoothed all the wrinkles away. She was so occupied with her mind, that she didn’t hear Emma returning. 

“I used one of your towels, I hope that’s okay.” 

Regina startled and turned so hastily around that she slightly tumbled. Stupid second glass of wine. 

“Yeah…that’s…fine.” 

To be honest Regina was slightly distracted by Emma’s body. Emma only wore a blank tank top and red shorts, short shorts, like hot pants short, like hot short, like fire red hot shorts. Stupid wine. 

Emma smiled. “Second time I startle you to death today.” 

Third, Regina thought, but Emma didn’t know about the heart attack she had had when she had been in the kitchen. 

“Oh…well...no…I just…” 

Emma sat down on the sofa, pouring wine in Regina’s empty glass and then took her own. She patted the spot beside her and Regina sat down, feeling a little bit in trance, a third glass of wine in her hand. Oh boy, so much wine wasn’t what she wanted when Emma’s bare legs were only inches apart from her own and one of her muscled arm was on the backrest of the sofa. 

“I get it.” Emma began. 

_What?_ Regina’s attention was immediately back. What did Emma get? Was the look in her eyes so obvious? 

“You were startled because I suddenly stood in front of your door…” 

_Oh that. Puh._

“…but seriously, if you were scared to open the door why did you even open it? I mean instead of me, some kind of serial killer could have stood there. Why don’t you have a chain lock or install a spy hole? 

“A serial killer? Really?” Regina asked amused. Emma was definitely watching too much of those crime TV series. But it was kind of cute that she was worried about Regina’s safety and that made Regina’s heart beat faster. 

“There are crazy people out there, believe me. You should be more careful.” Emma took a sip of her wine and Regina hang a moment too long on those delicious looking lips. She quickly turned her gaze down to her hands, which played with the rim of her glass. Regina didn’t know how to respond, her mind was too occupied with the battle inside of her. One side told her to look at the bare skin in front of her and the other didn’t want to get caught. 

“So” Emma broke the upcoming silence. “What else did you do today besides from letting potential serial killers into your apartment?” 

A chuckle escaped Regina’s lips. “Let’s see. I almost run into a Zombie Apocalypse. I barely escaped a Vampire who was trying to bite me. I was this close to be abducted by Aliens. By the way I think I saw a killer Cyborg today, you know, like the one with the glowing eye.” 

“Very funny.” Emma countered, while Regina was laughing. “Someone has found her funny bone today.” 

“Isn’t that what usually your evenings contain? Bloodthirsty Zombies, pale Vampires, disturbing looking Aliens and emotionally broken Cyborgs.” Regina said with a wink. 

“Just because there is nothing else on TV.” 

“Sure. It’s not like you like those shows.” 

“Of course not.” Emma said, hiding her smirk behind her wineglass. “Oh, that reminds me, I found this one show which is really terrible. You have to watch it sometime. It is so bad that it is actually good. The show has more plot holes than a Swiss cheese has holes, some characters just disappear without explanation and the CGI seems like it was made twenty years ago. It’s hilarious.” 

Regina shook her head in amusement. “Sounds tempting, but I guess I will stick with my books.” 

“Aww, come on. Kathryn started to watch it too.” Emma shifted on the sofa to fill her now empty glass. She eyed the almost empty bottle and motioned towards Regina, but Regina hold a hand over her glass and shook her head. She had had already enough and it was hard enough to **not** watch the water drops running down Emma’s chest and disappear into her cleavage. If Emma wore a white top, Regina could most certainly see through the fabric and that thought alone increased Regina’s body temperature. 

Emma poured the rest of bottle content in her glass while she shook her head in disbelief. “That was fast. You sure that bottle was full when you brought it in?” 

Regina’s cheeks blushed. She didn’t want to admit that she had an extra glass while Emma was showering, so she quickly changed the subject. “So you’re saying Kathryn is watching some awful show and likes it?” 

“Yepp” Emma responded after she sipped from her wine. “But she just watches it because of the men.” 

Kathryn only watched shows with handsome men, Regina knew that already. She also knew that her best friend was positively, 100 %, without question heterosexual. If Emma watched the show too, did that mean she also watched it because of the handsome men? Did that mean she had no chance with the blonde? But Emma didn’t say ‘I also watch it because of that’, maybe there was still hope. This was Regina’s chance to find out if Emma was into men or women. 

Regina’s hands got sweaty and didn’t exactly know how she should ask the question, but if she didn’t ask quickly, the moment for asking would be over. She looked at Emma to catch her reaction as she asked her question. 

“Are the men handsome?” Okay, maybe this wasn’t the best way to ask Emma if she was into guys. 

Emma just shrugged. “What’s your type? Maybe he’s part of the cast.” 

That had backfired phenomenal. Regina stared back into her glass. What now? Tell Emma the truth and reveal that at the age of 17 she had discovered that she was into girls or lie and ruin the potential chance to find out that Emma was into girls too. 

Wait. Regina didn’t have to answer in black or white. She could answer vaguely. “I don’t really have one particular type. How about you?” Regina was sure, that out of the corner of her eye she saw Emma’s gaze dropping to Regina’s bare legs, but as she lifted her head Emma’s eyes locked with hers and Emma had a smut smirk on her lips. “Tell me yours and I tell you mine.” 

Regina’s mouth gaped open. Was Emma flirting with her? Was this really happening? Maybe she had too much wine and was hallucinating things. ‘Wishful thinking’ was the correct phrase if she remembered correctly. How much Regina wished to just launch forward and capture Emma’s lips in a passionate kiss. But what if she was wrong? Regina was sure that she wouldn’t survive a rejection. She needed to get a clear head and put some distance between herself and those damn water drops which continued to wander from Emma’s wet hair to the valley between her breasts. Regina’s mouth was dry as she finally found her voice to answer Emma. 

“Guess I have to look the show…watch the show and…you know…match the cast…I mean…to see if someone there…matches…as type…” Regina escaped a nervous chuckle. “I’m sorry, seems like I need some sleep.” She stood up, still a half-full glass of wine in her hand and fully embarrassed. “I will just…” She motioned to the door and started to walk backwards. 

“You okay?” 

“Yes, yes, just overtired.” Regina bumped into the doorframe and awkwardly smiled while she walked through the door. “I will go to bed. You can stay up, watch TV, you can eat or drink anything you find in the kitchen. If you need anything just take it. Sleep well.” She was already half out of sight when she said. “Good night Emma.” 

“Regina?” 

She took a step towards the living room. “Yes?” 

“Thanks for letting me stay.” Emma’s smile was so bright, it dazzled Regina. “Night Regina.” 

Regina smiled back and waved clumsily with her hand. “Night.” She walked towards her room and almost hit the commode and almost knocked over the flower pot which was standing on top of it. It was really time to get some sleep. And a clear head. 

As Regina closed her bedroom door she sight out a breath of relief. One evening survived. Only one to go. And a morning. And probably another morning. That was a lot. 

One thing was sure: No more wine while Emma was around. 

The alcohol and Emma’s short pants and tight top had not helped Regina to focus on the words she had said. Tomorrow would be better. She would find out if Emma was into woman or not. But first her dizzy head needed some sleep. 

Regina realized that she had carried her wineglass with her and put it down on her bedside table. She removed her robe, laid into her bed and turned off the lights. 

But all she saw when she closed her eyes was water drops running down smooth skin, but instead of disappearing Regina caught it with her tongue, her hands wandering to the two globes and… 

Regina shook her head violently. She could not have those kinds of thoughts while Emma was sleeping in her living room. She needed to stay innocent before her body told her to throw caution to the wind and just kiss Emma fiercely. But regardless what Regina tried, her thoughts always wandered back to the blonde. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note that the rating had changed to M because of this chapter ;-)

Regina couldn’t sleep, she rolled over a thousand times and rearranged her pillows. But nothing she did had taken her mind off of the blonde, who was currently sleeping in her living room. It was way too hot under the blanket, but every time she tossed it away from herself it soon began to feel chilly, so she ended up covering herself again. Regina was tired, it was after 3am but she still hasn’t slept a second. Her mind just wouldn’t turn itself off. 

As Regina finally managed to fall in an uneasy sleep she heard a gentle knocking at her door, half-asleep, half-awake she turned around, her voice sounded hoarse when she said “Yes?” 

The door slowly opened, the light of the floor flooding into the dark bedroom. Emma stood at the entrance, one hand at the handle of the door, the other at the door frame. 

“Emma? Do you need anything?” Regina’s mouth was dry and her eyes stuck to Emma’s bare legs, she was still wearing those, very short shorts and that tight top. Emma didn’t hesitate when she moved to the bed, sitting down next to Regina. 

Regina sat up and gulped. Even in the dark room where the only light source was the floor light that shined through the open door, Regina could see that Emma’s nipples pressed against her tight top. Emma was definitely too close. She had to force herself not to stare at Emma’s breast. Her eyes went up and she looked in Emma’s confident and determined eyes. 

“Is there anything you need?” Regina asked again. Noticing too late that, with her hoarse voice, it sounded too much like a line from a porn movie. 

Emma raised her hand to Regina’s face and with her finger she traced along her cheek, then her jaw and then the line of Regina’s lip. Regina didn’t move, couldn’t move. She was captivated by the way Emma was looking at her, touching her. A shiver run down her spine, although she wasn’t cold, on the contrary it was getting hotter and hotter every minute. Emma’s thumb lingered at the scar above her lip. Regina was unable to comprehend the situation. It was too fast and too slow at the same time. 

There were thousand thoughts in Regina’s mind, whirling around and making her feel dizzy. Or maybe the dizziness came from Emma’s closeness. Did that mean that earlier Emma really had flirted with her? Did that mean Emma wanted the same as Regina? 

Emma slowly closed the distance between them, their noses touched and her lips hovered above Regina’s. She could feel Emma’s warm breath and it made her skin tingle. Her eyes fluttered shut and her mind was suddenly blank. Emma traced her lips a last time with her finger before her lips brushed against Regina’s. Emma’s lips felt warm and soft and Regina was lost in the sensation. 

It felt exactly like she had dreamed it would. 

As Regina parted her lips to take in a shuddering breath, she felt a tongue tracing down her upper lip. She moaned and Emma repeated the motion. Regina’s hands clenched at Emma’s tank top, trying to hold on to something. The tongue who was exploring her upper lip, soon explored more of Regina’s mouth and Regina let her, moaning at the feeling of Emma’s tongue in her mouth. 

Emma’s hands reached behind Regina, holding her secure while she settled them both back into the bed. Emma was now laying half on top of her and Regina could feel her nipples through the clothing they both still wore. 

Emma’s lips left Regina’s in order to kiss along her jaw until she reached the point right under Regina’s earlobe. Emma’s breath tingled in her ear and a shiver of excitement went through her body. Emma teased Regina’s ear with her tongue and bit down on her earlobe and Regina groaned in pleasure. She could already feel her underwear under her nightgown being soaked. 

Hands wandered from Regina’s back to her front. Pulling down the straps of her nightgown, revealing more and more of her cleavage. The kisses Emma showered Regina with, wandered down to the valley of her breast. Regina’s gasps turned into moans, when both of her nipples were cherished, one with a tongue and the other with skillful fingers. Regina’s own hands were captured in blonde locks while Emma dedicated all of her attention to the two peaks in front of her. 

“Emma.” Regina’s voice was hoarse and filled with need. 

Regina's nipples were already hard and her breath was heavy with lust. She needed more. Her hip thrust upwards to get Emma's attention and it worked. Emma pulled the nightgown upwards so that Regina’s underwear and stomach were visible. Emma’s nails scratched lightly over Regina's abdomen and her sensation increased. 

She wanted to feel Emma's finger between her legs. 

Again her hip desperately sought for Emma's attention and this time she got what she asked for. Emma's hand slipped into her underwear and Regina's breath was caught in her lungs as Emma explored the wetness between her legs. Emma teased her entrance, not going inside, just lingering and taking her time. 

Regina rocked impatient against Emma's fingers. Her breath had quickened and her heart beat wild in her chest. First one finger entered, but was quickly followed by a second one and Regina groaned in pleasure. 

Regina's hip swayed with the rhythm of Emma's pushing fingers. Her heavy panting and moaning filled the otherwise silent room. 

As Emma brushed slightly with her thumb over her clit, Regina's whole body trembled in pure desire for more. Emma repeated the motion while she still pushed her fingers inside. 

Regina's heartbeat drummed in her ear and she panted short-breathed. She could feel herself getting closer and closer to the eagerly awaited orgasm. It was then, that Emma decided to retreat her thumb and fingers and retreated her hand out of Regina’s underwear, leaving a painfully aching Regina behind. 

As Regina looked down to see what was going on, she saw Emma smirking while she pulled Regina’s underwear slowly down and tossed it away. Blonde curls settled in between her legs and Regina gasped for air. The sight of Emma's head between her legs was almost enough to make her come. 

The moment when Emma's tongue touched her clit, Regina moaned involuntarily. She shut her eyes, clenched the sheets, her back arched off the bed and her hip bolted towards Emma. 

“Emma.” And Regina was sure her voice had never sounded so husky or filled with desire. 

But the other woman stopped as she heard her name and Regina immediately missed the contact of the playful tongue. Irritation settled in, as Emma neither responded nor continued. Regina opened her eyes and looked towards Emma. Emma had raised an eyebrow and was looking amused, but questioning at Regina. 

“Don't...” Regina's voice broke and she gulped. “Don't stop.” She wasn't sure Emma could hear her. She could barely hear herself over the loud hammering of her heart. It sounded like the beat of her heart filled the whole room. 

But Emma seemed to understand. Her tongue continued to push her towards climax and as if the skillful tongue wasn't already enough for Regina to lose her mind, Emma pushed her fingers back inside Regina. Regina couldn't hold back the loud moaning, which surely some of her neighbors would hear. 

The sensation was almost too much to bear. The hammering of her heart got louder and was soon the only sound Regina could hear, she couldn't even hear her own breathing anymore. 

She yearned desperately for relieved, but somehow the sensation of Emma touching her disappeared slowly. The contact became less and less satisfying. The dark room got brighter bit by bit and her hammering heart hurt in her ears. The covers felt different around her. 

Regina lost more and more contact to Emma, until she couldn’t feel the blonde around her anymore. Her drowsy conscious mind slowly started to work, analyzing her surroundings. 

She could feel her underwear and her nightgown still on her body. She was covered in sweat and her underwear was soaking wet. The covers felt different around her and this pounding in her head got increasingly annoying. 

She groaned annoyed when the next wave of hammering hit her ear. This time she at least realized that it wasn't her heartbeat. 

Slowly Regina opened her eyes to scan the room. The sun beamed through the curtains and the sound of men talking - no, shouting to each other and the drilling of a machine, far away from her room, echoed through her apartment. Right, the construction workers were still fixing the building. 

After sitting up Regina's mind finally cleared and made her realize that Emma wasn’t in the room. That in fact Emma had **never** been in her room. 

She had dreamed about Emma. 

She had dreamed a very hot dream about Emma. 

_Damn._

Regina flopped back into her pillows. Her body was still hot and wet and wanted release. For a moment she considered giving herself the last final touch to orgasm, but the thought that Emma would walk in, right in the moment when she had her hands between her legs, stopped her from doing so. 

She needed a shower. 

A cold shower. 

A very, very cold shower to forget the lively dream she had have 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really guys, 60 new followers after the sex chapter? ^.^ You are all so dirty :-P

Regina got up, very aware of the soaked underwear and the aching feeling between her legs. She really needed a cold shower to get rid of lively images within her mind, but it was still early and Emma most likely hadn't left for work. She really didn't want to face her as long as she still felt the blonde’s touch on her skin. 

_It was just a dream._ Regina reminded herself. 

She paced from one end of the room to the other, trying to get her breathing back to normal. Regina desperately wanted to shower, but didn’t know how to do that without running into Emma. It would be so embarrassing if Emma caught her all flushed, with messed hair and irregular breathing. She would immediately guess what Regina had done in her bedroom and there would be only one reasonable explanation for Regina’s current state. 

**Beep Beep.**

Regina jumped out of her skin at the sudden sound of her phone. She bumped into her wardrobe with a loud thump and anxiously eyed the door afterwards, scared that Emma might show up because of the ruckus. 

But nothing happened. Emma either didn’t hear it or ignored it. Whatever it was, Regina was glad Emma hadn’t decided to show up in her room. She let out her breath, she had hold. 

Before her phone could make another sound she grabbed it and turned the sounds off. In doing so she saw, that she had received a message from Kathryn. 

_I didn’t tell you because you would have panicked._ __

Regina dialed Kathryn’s number faster than she could say her friend’s name. It only rang once before someone picked up. Regina didn’t even bother to say a greeting. “You should have told me.” She hissed in a low voice into the phone. 

“Why are you whispering?” Kathryn asked irritated. “Oh my God! She’s in your bed! I knew it! You dirty little rabbit. Tell me everything.” 

“What? No!” Regina whispered all flushed. If Kathryn only knew that her suspicion was very close to what Regina had dreamed. 

“Oh come on Regina. Tell me about your hot and steamy lesbian sex night. Who was on top?” 

“Kathryn!” 

“Regina!” Kathryn countered in the same way her friend had said her name. “We tell each other everything, so spit it out. I told you about my bedtime stories, now it’s your turn.” 

“There are still a few disturbing images in my mind I can’t forget and I wish you hadn’t told me.” 

“Regardless” Kathryn continued unimpressed “what happened between you and Miss ‘have-you-seen-her-ass’?” 

“Nothing.” 

“Then why are you still whispering?” 

If Kathryn would stand in the room, she could see how Regina’s cheek turned into a deep crimson red. “I had a dream about Emma. A very…hot dream.” Regina hesitantly admitted. “It was a sex dream okay. And now I can’t face her.” 

“Oh là là! Regina Mills, having naughty dreams about her roommate. Tz tz tz. Tell me more!” 

“There isn’t much. Dream-Emma came into my room, walked to my bed, kissed me, kissed me even more, started to use her fingers and then…then her tongue.” 

“What are you waiting for? Make that dream come true! Seduce her!” 

“I can’t” Regina whined while she paced her room up and down. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me, I behave like an idiot around her.” 

“What do you mean with ‘like an idiot’? What did you…” 

“Ssschh…” Regina stopped in her tracks. 

“What’s going on?” Kathryn started to whisper too. “Regina?” 

“I heard something.” Regina whispered even lower. She walked towards the door, pressed on ear against it and listened to any movements outside. There was some rustling, then a click and then the sound of a door closing. “I think she just left.” Regina walked back to her bed and let herself fall in the soft covers. “My heart is not going to survive this another night. Seriously Kathryn, you should have warned me!” 

“You would have panicked and Emma really needed a place to stay. She doesn't have many friends she could ask to stay over and she couldn't stay with me at my boyfriend’s apartment, it’s too crowded there. She said she would just sleep in her car! Her car, Regina!” She could almost see her best friend’s worried and shocked expression. “I couldn't let her sleep in the car! So yeah, maybe I had an impulsive reaction and told her you offered your couch.” 

The thought of Emma sleeping in her car in a big city with hundreds of criminals worried Regina too. How could Emma even think about doing such a thing? Just a few hours ago she had expressed her concern about Regina letting a serial killer into her apartment and at the same time Emma considered sleeping in a car. 

“Why would she sleep in her car? Why not sleep at a hotel or motel?” 

“I have no idea.” Kathryn admitted. “Anyway, do you have a plan for tonight to get Emma into your bed?” 

“What? Kathryn! I don’t even know if she is gay!” 

“Kiss her and you will find out.” Kathryn chuckled. 

Regina rolled her eyes. “I’m going to hang up now.” 

“Come on, you haven’t even told me all the details of your dream yet.” 

“Bye Kathryn.” Without waiting for an answer Regina hang up. Her best friend could be really annoying sometimes, but she liked her anyway. Kathryn was the only person Regina trusted completely and could talk about everything. 

While still laying on the bed, Regina closed her eyes, it was too early to get up yet and her alarm clock wouldn’t ring for at least another hour. 

_Emma's lips on hers. Her fingers between her legs. Her tongue on..._ __

Shower. 

Now. 

Hastily Regina stood up and gathered a few clothes. At least she could shower now that Emma was gone. Wait. Emma was gone. As in not in the apartment anymore. Emma couldn’t caught Regina because she couldn’t enter the apartment without a key, which Emma of course didn’t have. 

Emma didn’t have a key. 

Regina banged her head against her bedroom door. Emma came home way earlier from work as Regina – if the blonde didn’t have double shift – which meant, that Emma would be waiting outside of the apartment for hours. She should tell Emma to not come back to early. 

But how? 

Regina didn’t have the blonde’s mail address or phone number. It hadn’t been necessary while Regina had lived at Kathryn’s apartment and afterwards she hadn’t seem Emma for days. Her only option to reach Emma was through Kathryn. 

Regina walked back to her phone and sent Kathryn a text. It only took a moment until Kathryn replied with a number, a wink smiley and a note, that if she wanted a number from a hot girl, she should ask herself. Despite the fact that Kathryn couldn’t see her, Regina rolled her eyes. She send a quick text to Emma, saying she wouldn’t come home until 6 pm and she’s sorry that she hadn’t given her a key. 

The realization that Emma wasn’t in her apartment anymore had Regina achingly realized that her underwear was still soaked. A glance to her watch reassured her, that she had more than enough time to have some ‘fun’ and could even take a long relaxing shower afterwards. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My girlfriend didn’t like that I left the ‘fun’ part out ;-) but seriously, I have to leave some of it to your imagination ;-)  
> Next chapter will take some time to be uploaded. My precious is going to the hospital tomorrow and needs to stay there for the week, so I will spend most of my time there. Which is not a good timing considering that we are moving at the end of the month :-/  
> Please be patient, next chapter is coming, it might just takes some time.   
> Spoiler Alert: Next chapter contains the evening of our both ladies and it is going to be a loooong evening ;-)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey fellows :-) The last month was exhausting. My Girlfriend had been in the hospital because of stomach issues, we can’t shower cause our bathroom has a water damage, we had t¬o buy furniture for our new apartment and my parents came to visit in the midst of all this mess. Somehow in between I found time to write a rather long chapter about the evening our two ladies are about to have ;-)

It was later than Regina had expected. Almost 6:30 pm. She was held up in the office and traffic had been beyond annoying. She had texted Emma that she would be late and Emma had send a message back and told her to take her time. While Regina entered her apartment building and went upstairs she pondered how she could face Emma now. After her very exciting dream, Regina had touched herself while thinking about the blonde. Now in the light of day, Regina was embarrassed at her inappropriate thoughts. Acting as if nothing happened seemed very difficult while this morning Regina had imagined Emma's hand and head between her legs, moaning while her orgasm washed over her. 

Regina halted on the stairs. There was no way she could face Emma. A part of her told her to run away and avoid the blonde for months, but Emma needed a place sleep and it would be cruel to let her wait outside the door for hours. Shaking her M-rated thoughts out of her mind, Regina continued to climb the stairs. If she hurried she might have time to change her clothes and refresh her make-up before Emma arrived. Silently Regina cursed the incompetent construction workers who haven't fixed the elevator till now. Her heels were killing her and she was glad she could soon release her aching feet. 

Heavy breathing Regina reached her floor, she fumbled in her bag for the key while she walked, as she didn't find it she looked deeper into her bag, finally catching the wanted object and fishing it out. She looked up and stopped abruptly, letting the key fall to the floor. Emma sat in front of her door, mobile phone in her hand and smiling at Regina. 

"Hey." 

"H-Hi." Regina stumbled. The sight of the blonde colored Regina's cheek immediately red due to the fact that her mind already imagined Emma in less cloth. 

"I'm so sorry, traffic was terrible. Did you wait long?" 

"It's fine. I went shopping for dinner." Emma answered with a smile and stood up to make room for Regina to approach the door. She bend down to pick up the bag with the groceries, her back to Regina, and Regina kept staring at her booty. 

"Dinner?" Regina asked, standing in front of the door and searching in her bag for her key. 

Emma chuckled. "Yes, it's a meal you eat in the evening." She stepped a few steps away from the door and bend down a second time and Regina found herself staring again. 

"Searching for this?" Emma asked and held Regina's key between them. 

Speechless because of her own idiocy, Regina took the keys and avoided eye contact. After an awful long moment of fumbling with the lock, she opened the door and held it open for Emma. 

"Thanks." Emma said while she walked through the door. "I thought about making some rice with vegetables. Is that okay with you?" 

"You don't have to cook for me." 

"I know my cooking is bad, but you could have told me gentler." Emma joked. 

"That's not what I meant." Regina clarified while she followed Emma to the kitchen. "I just don't want you to feel obligated to cook." 

"I don't feel obligated to cook, Regina. Besides you are invited to help." 

Emma put down the bag and started to place its content right next to the fridge. First she retrieved a bottle of wine and winked at Regina. "Because the last one was empty so fast." Then several ingredients followed, carrots, onions, zucchini, bell pepper, cheese, eggs and rice. "I thought I would just throw everything into the pan, any objections?" 

"No, sounds good." 

Emma laughed at the comment. "Not really, it sounds more like someone has no idea of how to cook." She took a chopping board and opened several drawers until she found a knife. 

"As somebody who has tasted the food you were cooking, I can assure you that your cooking skills are not as bad as you might think." Regina opened the fridge. "Do you mind if we use the zucchini I still have instead of the new bought one?" 

"Of course not. The only reason why I bought so much is because I didn't know what you already have here." Emma washed the bell pepper while Regina exchanged the zucchini in the fridge with the one that lay outside. While the fridge was still open she asked what she should do. Emma had started to cut the bell paper in little pieces and Regina stared at the long fingers which moved quickly. She already imagined the fingers doing a less appropriate task. 

"You could pour us both a glass of wine. After all cooking doesn't have to be boring." Emma suggested 

"Mmm." While still looking at Emma's elegant fingers, Regina took a bottle out of the fridge. 

Emma glanced sideways to her and chuckled. "At least the color is the same, but could you please pour something else in my glass." 

"Huh?" 

Looking at the bottle in her hand, Regina turned as red as the ketchup bottle she held. Hastily she threw it back in the fridge and slammed the door shut. She grasped for the wine bottle, the one Emma had bought, which stood beside the fridge but Regina almost knocked it over with her clumsy hands. 

Emma still chuckled as she took the bottle away from Regina. "How about **I** uncork it and you get the glasses. We wouldn't want the bottle to get smashed before dinner even starts." 

Ashamed, Regina took two glasses out of the cabinet and placed it on the counter in front of Emma. With practiced ease, Emma opened the bottle and filled both glasses. She handed one to Regina and held her own high to let the glasses jingle. 

"To a hopefully, eatable dinner and to the worst TV show you have ever seen." 

"What?" 

"We are going to watch this TV show I told you about after dinner. Remember, we have to find your type." Emma winked at her and put her glass down to resume her work with the bell pepper. "By the way, you can chop the carrots." 

Regina almost choked on her wine. Throughout the day, she had already thought of a subtle way to find out if Emma was gay. Watching a crappy TV show and being forced to tell her own 'type' wasn't exactly what she had planned. Emma would probably, just like yesterday, be stubbornly say something like 'tell me your type first'. Thinking of a way out of this dilemma, Regina reached for the carrots. Her hand bumped against Emma's glass, luckily the glass didn't shatter, but its content was all over the counter. 

Regina groaned. "Not again." She grabbed a towel to clean the counter and part of the floor. Something was definitely wrong with her. Or with the way the blonde constantly occupied her mind. 

"Okay, that's enough." Emma said gentle and took the towel from Regina. "You're out." 

"What?" 

Emma smiled softly and repeated the phrase. "You're out." She touched Regina's shoulders slightly and shoved her out of the kitchen. 

"But…" 

"No buts. Read a book or take a nap. Whatever, just don't come back into the kitchen." 

Standing slightly irritated in the floor, Regina turned to look at Emma. "I'm…" 

"…totally incapable of helping in the kitchen. Yeah I think so too." Emma said while chuckling. "Sit down and relax. I can manage cooking for one evening." 

"But…" Regina began to object, but was cut off by Emma. 

"I already told you, no buts. Now go, I will call you when dinner is ready." With that Emma retreated back into the kitchen, leaving Regina standing in the floor. Regina stood lost there for a moment. Emma probably thought she was living with a complete fool, not capable of doing anything right. 

She wasn't that wrong. Regina thought that too. And she really did fell like a fool around Emma. She wasn't sure why, but somehow she was totally out of her mind when Emma was around her. She dropped her head and walked into the living room. 

Emma had folded her bedding into a pile and had put it onto the armchair that stood beside the couch. If the pile of sheets and Emma's bag in the corner of the room weren't laying there, Regina wouldn't believe someone had slept in this room. For a moment Regina got scared that Emma had enough of living with her and would rather sleep in her car than here. But then she remembered Emma saying they would watch TV later and it seemed reasonable that Emma had put aside her bedding. Since the bedding must have been already removed this morning, Regina was wondering if Emma had planned this whole 'let's find out your type by watching this terrible show' since she had woken up. 

Regina walked past the couch and flopped into her big, comfortable cushioned rocking chair that stood right next to the window. She released her aching feet, wiggling her toes and sighed in relieve. 

The book she currently read was in her bedroom, but Regina didn't want to get up again to get it, instead she reached for the first book she could find. She didn't had any intention of reading anyway. Her mind was occupied with the blonde and what she might think of the stupid interactions that had happened in the kitchen. Regina opened the book somewhere in the middle to keep up the appearance that she was reading in case Emma showed up. Her eyes didn't even catch one letter, not to mention a whole word. Regina's mind was occupied with the memory of Emma's skillful fingers, cutting the vegetables in the kitchen. What other tasks those skillful fingers could perform. They could caress her breast, massage her thighs, stroke her… 

"I brought your wineglass." 

Regina startled of the sudden voice of Emma. 

"Sorry, seems like I interrupted while you were absorbed in your book. But I can't let you die of thirst while I have plenty to drink in the kitchen." Emma said with an apologizing smile and put the glass down at the window ledge for Regina to reach it easily. "And I brought your purse, thought you would need your phone, but as I can see now, you are already occupied." She put down the purse beside the rocking chair. 

"Thanks." Regina was not capable of saying anything else. Her heart raced and she felt like she had been caught doing something inappropriate. Which in some way was true. 

"No problem." Emma smiled before she left the room and as soon as she had turned her back to Regina, Regina caught herself staring at Emma's ass. 

After Emma was out of sight, Regina didn't feel save to fantasize anymore about Emma while said one could enter the living room anytime, she looked back at the book in her lap. Maybe reading wasn't such a bad idea. 

If she could actually read a book upside down. 

Oh dear. Hopefully Emma hadn't seen that she was just pretending to read. Better said, failed to pretend with an upside down book. 

With a sigh Regina leaned back and covered her face with her hands. This was a disaster, how was she supposed to endure a whole evening alone with Emma? She had barely managed half an hour and had embarrassed herself to no end. 

After a moment of consideration, she began to fumble in her purse until she held her phone in her hand, sending a message to Kathryn. 

_You have to come over._

Regina knew she wouldn't have to wait long for Kathryn's reply and she was right. 

**Why? What happened?**

_I can't be alone with her. I act like a fool._

**You're overreacting. Anyway, how are you planning on having a sexy time if someone is around ;-)**

_I almost poured ketchup in the wineglass..._

**:D for real? I'm laughing my ass off right now**

_Very funny... sway your laughing ass over. NOW! I need your help_

**A few days ago you said that under no circumstances I should interfere ;-)**

_I revise my statement. Get over here, pleaseee_

**What's in for me?**

_My infinite appreciation_

**Nice try :-P**

_Fine... what do you want?_

**Wow, you really are desperate. Lucky me :-) How about we go shopping and you by me those shoes I saw last time. You know, those lovely (expensive) one ;-)**

Regina groaned in frustration. She had no intention on buying shoes for Kathryn, but she had even less intention to act more foolishly around Emma. 

_Fine. But you come here this instant._

**You got a comrade, girl ;-) and I will have my shoes :P**

_Don't tell Emma the real reason you come over_

**Don't worry, I will be discrete ;-) See you soon**

Regina rocked back and forth with her chair. The steady swinging calmed her nerves and together with the reassurance from her best friend, she felt like she could actually survive this evening. 

The scent of spices lingered in the air, indicating that it wouldn't be long until dinner was ready. It smelled good and Regina couldn't wait to taste the delicious food. She used her mobile phone to browse through some websites, none of them catching her interest for long. 

This time she heard the footsteps as Emma approached the living room. Regina greeted Emma with a smile as blonde hair peered around the corner. "Ready?" She asked and Emma nodded in response. Regina stood up, taking her glass with her as she made her way to the kitchen. 

"Don't expect too much, it is only rice with vegetables." 

Regina was surprised to see that the kitchen table was already set. "I would have helped you." 

Emma arched an eyebrow and grinned. "Yeah, I saw how much of a help you were." 

Even if there was no malice in Emma's voice, Regina felt terrible for leaving such an impression on the blonde. She sat down in silence while Emma got the pan off the stove and placed it between both plates. 

The change in her mood must have been obvious, because Emma nudged her shoulder. "Hey, it's okay to have a bad day once in a while. I know you are usually an ace in the kitchen, I'm still carving to eat these lasagna of yours again." 

Regina smiled at the memory of eating lasagna with Emma. The blonde had vocalized very detailed how amazing the food was. "Too bad you are leaving tomorrow." Regina teased, her mood increased by Emma's compliment and the memory of the sounds Emma had made while eating lasagna. 

"I don't have to leave before dinner." Emma said and Regina could see the hope flaming up in Emma's eyes. Emma looked almost like a child, promised to get some ice cream. It caused Regina to laugh heartedly. "I suppose you could stay for dinner and I suppose I could make lasagna." 

"Yes!" Emma proclaimed victoriously. 

"How about we start eating today's dinner before talking about tomorrows? It looks delicious by the way." It really did. The rice was stained from various spices and the green zucchini, the yellow bell pepper and the orange carrots matched perfectly together. Combined with the onions and the occasional appearing cheese and scrambled egg it looked extremely delicious. Regina's mouth watered and her stomach growled, fortunately not loud enough for Emma to hear. 

Emma shrugged the compliment off, not really believing that the food she prepared would actually taste good. She loaded Regina's plate first before turning to her own. 

"Thanks for cooking." 

"Enjoy your meal. If that's even possible." 

Not believing that something could taste bad, if it looked the way the food in front of her did, Regina took her first bite. "Mmmmhh" she hummed in approval. The meal was well spiced, a little bit too spicy, but Regina liked spiced food. "I have no idea why you think you can't cook, this is delicious. What spices did you use?" Regina could taste different kind of flavors but couldn't exactly pinpoint one. 

"I used all you have." 

With wide eyes Regina looked up from her plate and saw an uncomfortable shifting Emma. 

"I don't know how to cook. I just put every spice I found, maybe not everyone but mostly everyone, into the pan and you sure have a lot." Emma admitted. 

"You didn't learn to cook from your parents?" Regina hadn't thought that such an easy question would stiffen up the blonde. Emma stared at her plate, with small pressed lips. 

"No." There was a moment of silence before Emma changed the topic. "How was your workday?" 

Regina should have known better than to ask about her Emma's parents. It wasn't the first time the topic came up and just like every other time, Emma only answered monosyllabic and avoided deepening the conversation. 

"Nothing out of the ordinary. Making calls, working off paper piles, talking to co-workers. How was yours?" 

"Boring as always." Emma replied. "I set a new record at paper toss." 

"Fascinating pastime." Regina chuckled. "Did you ever consider doing something meaningful in those times you don't have anything to do at work?" 

"Like reading?" Emma grinned. 

"For example." Regina said, infected by Emma's grin. 

"I considered watching shows, but the internet connection is really slow at work, so I stick with mobile games." 

"Yes, watching series is what I meant with 'meaningful'" Regina teased. 

"What _meaningful_ " Emma emphasized that word "pastimes do you have besides reading? If reading is even considered being meaningful." 

"You think reading is not a meaningful pastime?" Regina asked half shocked, half disbelieving. 

"What makes you think watching TV shows is not a meaningful pastime?" Emma countered. 

Regina found herself momentarily at a loss for words. She didn't have time to think of a response, since Emma continued to talk. 

"Reading books and watching shows is not that different you know. Both transport us into a fictional world. We can identify us with what we read or see, or we can put some distance between certain opinions. By doing so we can reflect what our own opinions are. If a character acts in some way, we can ask ourselves if we would make the same choice he or she does. Our own moral standards can be questioned. Sure, books and shows transport their message through different ways. Books can let us see the thoughts and feelings of a person a show can hardly transport, but shows give us visual input and we can see emotions within a second, sometimes words can't describe a feeling like a picture can do. I guess it doesn't matter if you read or watch, it's about reflecting what you consume." 

"Wow." Regina was stunned by Emma's point of view, she thought Emma was just turning her mind off while watching TV. 

"Well, I do need a good excuse to watch so much TV." Emma said with a smirk. 

"That's..." Regina felt herself at a loss of words again. "Do you really reflect on what you see? I saw you watching TV and all you do is chip in useless comments." 

Emma made a playful gesture of offense. "Useless? That's my way of processing what I see!" 

"By shouting at the TV 'dude, you look ridiculous with your hat'." Regina chuckled. 

The grin and the glint in Emma's eyes made it clear that she was only performing to be offended. "I establish a border between his choice of clothes and mine. Clearly not a dressing choice I would imitate." Emma refilled her meanwhile empty plate and gestured towards Regina, asking without words if she wanted a refill too. 

"No thanks, it was very tasty, but I'm full. Thanks again for cooking." 

"I'm glad you liked it." Emma said while she shoveled a fork full of rice into her mouth. 

Regina nipped at her wine, not making the same mistake as yesterday by drinking too much at once. The glass was still close to her lips as she saw that one grain of rice hanged on Emma's lips. Before Regina could say something, Emma noticed it herself and darted her tongue out to catch it. Seeing Emma's tongue glide over her lips made Regina remember the dream she had about Emma. About kissing those glistering lips. Emma's tongue sliding down her body towards her aching cent... 

Something wet touched Regina's blouse and she startled. With a racing heart she looked down to observe what had happened. Regina saw a dark red stain, she had probably held the glass in a wrong angle. In a very wrong angle as it seemed. 

"You okay?" 

"I just..." 

"I can see that." Emma said with a smirk, looking directly at her chest. 

Looking down again, Regina saw that her white blouse was transparent where the red stain had hit it. Her black lace bra was shining through. With one hand Regina covered the area, while the other put down the glass she was still holding. 

"I will just..." Regina said gesturing towards the door, cheeks almost instantly coloring into a dark red. She stood up and hastily walked to the door. As she was almost through, she heard Emma mumbling something that sounded a lot like "I don't mind". Her mind was busy processing that piece of information while she went to her room to get a clean shirt and afterwards to the bathroom to try and rescue her blouse. After closing the bathroom door she sat on the bathtub edge, her feet slightly trembling. 

Did Emma really just say she didn't mind seeing her bra? Did her voice sounded husky? Did she stared longer as normally polite? Did she had licked her lips while seeing through her blouse? Was Emma...? Did she had a chance? Should she make a move tonight? 

While still wondering what she should do tonight the bell rang. "I'll get it." Emma's voice sounded through the apartment. 

Damn. That was Kathryn. Shit. Of course Kathryn interrupted the moment Regina was wondering if she should test the waters and tell Emma that she was gay and see how the blonde reacted. It was her own fault too. She had invited Kathryn because she didn't want to be alone with Emma, now she wasn't so sure about that. Dammit. 

Regina heard the muffled voices of the both blonde in the floor. She tiptoed to the door, pressed an ear against it, but still couldn't hear a word they said. Although the footsteps she heard indicated that both walked back to the kitchen. 

With a sigh, Regina decided to ignore her ruined blouse and greet Kathryn. Only the gods knew what embarrassing stories Kathryn might tell while Regina wasn't there. Dressed in a new, stainless blouse she entered the kitchen. 

Kathryn and Emma sat at the table, chatting and drinking wine. Emma still ate her rice dish and Regina had to forcefully look away. 

"Hey Kathryn." 

Her friend grinned at her. "Hello my wine-spilling-friend." 

Regina rolled her eyes. Seemed like Emma was the one telling the embarrassing stories. Ignoring Kathryn's comment, she sat down at her previous occupied chair. 

"Do you want to eat something? Emma made a fantastic meal and there is still a lot in the pan." 

"I'm fine. I already ate today, which is a shame because I tried a fork full and it's really good. I wouldn't mind if you would cook more often in our apartment." Kathryn said towards Emma with a wink. 

"You do have a boyfriend who cooks for you." Emma countered while emptying her plate. "By the way, why aren't you spending time with him today? Did you have a fight?" While Emma looked curious towards Kathryn and waiting for an answer, Regina started to feel the panic bubbling up inside her. She hoped Kathryn had thought about a good excuse before coming here. 

"Like I said before, I wanted to spend some quality time with my best friend and my roommate. We never had a change to do something together." 

Emma scoffed. "Lame excuse, try again." 

Regina fidgeted nervously with her hands under the table. Kathryn's excuse might have been not the best, but it certainly wasn't the worst either. Why couldn't Emma just leave it be? 

With a long huff, Kathryn admitted defeat. "Fine. My lovely boyfriend spends some time with his old college friends tonight and I was bored to no end." 

Emma grinned, satisfied with Kathryn's answer. "I gotta go to the bathroom and then we can start our girls evening." Emma said. 

"Okay." 

Kathryn and Regina waited until Emma disappeared and they heard the bathroom door close. 

As soon as the door clicked shut, Kathryn turned to Regina "Spilling wine over yourself? Really? Last time you did something like that you were completely drunk? What's going on?" 

"I don't know. I told you I act like a fool around her!" 

"I don't get it. You are the most controlled person I know. Are you on some kind of drugs?" 

Regina gasped at the accusation. "Of course not! You know I never did drugs." 

"Maybe you are on some kind of love drug." Kathryn tried to hide her amused smile, but failed completely. 

"Very funny." Regina countered dryly. 

They hadn't time to talk any more since they heard the bathroom door opening again. Both remained silent as Emma walked back into the kitchen, eyeing both sitting women with a curious look. 

"Talking about me?" 

"No." Kathryn said while Regina offered an "Of course not." 

Emma smiled at their way too fast answers. "Sure. Oh Kathryn, have I told you yet that Regina is going to watch our crappy TV show?" Emma announced mischievously. 

"No way!" Kathryn turned to Regina. "She is kidding, right?" 

Not understanding what the big fuss about her watching TV was, Regina looked from one blonde to the other. 

"Gather in the living room, girls." Emma said while turning around and leading the way. 

"What is this about?" Regina whispered to Kathryn. 

"I started watching this show Emma constantly watched to subtly find out if she is gay. I started to made comments about the men and women but she didn't really respond to any breadcrumbs I left. Could be that a few days ago…" 

"Girls, what are you waiting for? Are you still backbit about me?" Emma shouted from the living room. 

"Course not!" Kathryn shouted back and walked to the living room. "I was trying to explain the show to Regina, but as you can see she is still confused. Maybe we should do something else." 

"Nope, Regina and I already made some kind of deal yesterday. We watch the show so she can tell me her type." Emma told Kathryn, who turned around to look at Regina for confirmation. "Besides, the first season isn't that confusing. They mess up in season 2...and every other season that follows." Emma padded the empty space on the couch beside her. "Sit down, the show is about to start." 

Kathryn looked at Regina with a _'you're going to tell her your type?'_ look. Which Regina countered with a _'please help me'_ look. 

Kathryn sighed and sat down in the middle of the couch with Emma to her right. Regina sat down on Kathryn's left side, grateful that her friend was acting as a puffer. 

"We could still watch something else." Kathryn tried, but Emma just gave her a look that made it clear that there was no discussion and turned the TV on. 

The next 45 minutes contained various topics, beginning with the reason why Regina didn't had Netflix, which had caused Emma to log in on her own account. It was soon followed by a conversation about why every show called the first episode 'pilot', how they managed to get the actors to sign a contract and how many people really worked behind the scenes. Kathryn even tried to tell Regina what would happen in the next few episodes, only to be silenced by Emma. 

When the end credits rolled over the screen, Emma grinned and held the palm of her hand in front of Kathryn. With a furrowed brow Regina watched how Kathryn glared first at Emma and then at Regina before she stood up and left the living room. 

"What's going on?" 

Emma didn't answer, she just waited until Kathryn returned with a bill and pushed it into Emma's hand before she sat down again between the two women. 

"I'm really disappointed with you, Regina." Kathryn announced. 

"Me? Why?" 

"A few days ago when Emma and I watched the show, I told her that you would never watch such a crappy show. Emma was betting that she would get you to watch a whole episode without you turning your back to it. Thanks to you I lost 50$." 

"You gambled about how I would react?" Regina couldn't believe that she heard correctly. 

"It's not gambling if you know you win." Emma said and winked. "So, let's move on to the real question. Have you found your type?" 

Still a little shocked about her best friends gambling habits with the woman she was attracted too, Regina wasn't able to form a coherent excuse to avoid the question. "I...well...it's..." 

"How is she supposed to make an adequate decision when she hasn't seen all the cast members?" Kathryn interjected. "Let's watch another episode." 

Before someone could object, the next episode already started and Kathryn settled comfortable back in the couch, paying all her attention to the TV. Regina knew the action was only to distract Emma from her question and she was overly grateful that her friend was here to protect her. 

"Oh come on! There is no new character showing up in the next episode!" Emma objected. 

"If that's the case then we will watch a few more episodes." Kathryn announced. "It's movie night!" 

The sigh Emma let out couldn't be unheard. "Do I get another fifty if Regina watches it until the end?" 

"No! Now sshhh, we will miss the story." 

Regina hide her smile as she watched Emma rolling her eyes. As if Emma knew she was being watched, she looked to Regina and smiled. "You're not off the hook." Emma whispered. 

"Sssshhhhh!" 

Again Emma playfully rolled her eyes and grinned at Kathryn's attempt to silence her. 

The evening went by quickly, they killed one episode after another, plundered the kitchen for snacks and two wine bottles capitulated. Emma commented on the characters behavior and Kathryn about their choice of clothing, regardless of which, it caused Regina to laugh. Every time the conversation headed into a direction Kathryn disliked - or moved to persons who Regina might find 'interesting', as Emma called it - Kathryn silenced the conversation with a ssshhhh. 

Regina was glad to have Kathryn by her side. Instead of awkward and embarrassing, this evening had turned out to be funny. She had a great time with the two blondes who tried to top each other's silly comments by even sillier comments. 

After the clock hit midnight Kathryn decided it was time to go home. "This was fun, let's do this again!" Kathryn announced as she stood up and stretched her numb limbs. 

"Getting 50$ for watching series with you two. Sure." For that, Emma earned herself a playful smack from Kathryn, which just caused her to giggle. "Fine, 20$ will do too." 

"I'm not betting with you again. You cheat." 

Emma gasped. "Cheating? Me?" 

Seeing the friendly banter between the two blondes caused Regina to chuckle. Kathryn glared at her and Emma and Emma joined the chuckling. 

"You two allied up against me." Kathryn looked to Regina. "You owe me." She said with a glint in her eyes. She left the living room with her empty glass and a few empty snack papers, leaving Emma and Regina alone in the room. 

"I would usually ask if you want to watch something else, but I have to get up pretty early tomorrow." Emma said with a grimace. She stood up as well, cleaning the mess they had caused. "By the way, are you free Thursday evening?" 

Regina furrowed her brow and helped cleaning the coffee table. "I guess, want to have another movie night?" 

"I thought of inviting you for a drink." 

Regina had almost dropped the empty wine bottle she held. "What?" 

"You were significantly involved with helping me get those 50$. So what do you say? Wanna get a drink with me?" 

Green eyes watched her intensely and her mind went blank. Those eyes captivated her every time she looked into them. "Yes." Regina answered without thinking. 

"Great! It's a date." 

With these words Emma left the living room, carrying the mess they had produced into the kitchen. 

_A date?_

Regina's mind caught up with what had been said. 

_A date?_

Like in trance she followed into the kitchen, the two blondes talked about something as Regina entered the kitchen but she wasn't able to follow the conversation. 

_A date with Emma?_

Like on autopilot Regina filled the dishwasher. What should she wear? How should she behave? Was it like a date-date or just a meeting-a-friend-date? Wanted Emma more? Had Emma really stared at her see-through blouse before? Where would they go? Would they kiss? Her thoughts were miles away when someone touched her shoulder. She turned and saw Kathryn standing there. "Earth to Regina." 

"Sorry, what?" 

"I asked if you want to go shopping this weekend." 

Slightly irritated and a bit hesitantly she answered. "Yes, sure." 

"Good." Kathryn grinned. "I gotta go now." 

Regina got engulfed into a hug from her friend and heard her whisper into her ear. "Don't forget your wallet." 

Regina smiled as Kathryn let go of her. Of course, Kathryn hadn't forgotten about the bribe. 

"See you tomorrow, roomie?" Kathryn asked as she hugged Emma goodbye. 

"I think so. Tell me if it is safe to come back to the apartment or if I should bring a gas mask." 

"I will give you a heads-up." Kathryn assured. "Have a good night you two." 

"Night, Kathryn." 

Regina accompanied Kathryn to the door and Kathryn hugged her a second time. "She asked me for a date." Regina blurted out. 

"What?" 

"Pssst. Not so loud." 

"What do you mean she asked you for a date? When? Where?" 

"As you walked in the kitchen. She asked if I have time on Thursday and as I said yes she said it's a date. Do you think she means date-date or just..." 

Kathryn shook her best friend. "Are you crazy!? Of course she means date-date! Are you blind!? Haven't you seen how she glances over to you all the time? And if you ask me, this whole 'whose-your-type-thing' is only to find out if you're into girls. Go get her!" 

"You think?" Regina asked unsure. 

"YES!" With a nudge, Kathryn shoved her best friend towards the kitchen. "Have hot lesbian sex!" She whispered before she vanished with a grin. 

Regina's cheeks turned hot and red. She waited a moment in the hallway until the heat cooled down a bit. Before she could enter the kitchen, Emma walked out. 

"Kathryn gone?" 

A nod was all Regina was capable of. Her mind was full with images of Emma and herself, naked, hot, having sex. Regina's cheeks instantly colored red again. Thankfully, Emma didn't see her tomato red face, she had made her way to the living room, turning the couch back to a bed. Regina waited in the doorframe, watching Emma's back, appreciating the view. 

"I had fun today." 

Emma's voice tore Regina from her thoughts. It took her a second to respond. "Me too." 

Regina wasn't prepared for the dazzling smile that greeted her as Emma turned around. "Maybe we could do this again?" 

A shy smile formed on Regina's lips. "I would like that." She lingered at the doorframe, not knowing what she should do. Should she follow Kathryn's instruction and go for it? Was Emma really interested? Was it the right time? The right moment? 

With a shake of her head, she decided it wasn't the right time. Not tonight. 

She stepped a step back from the doorframe. "Guess I should let you sleep now. Do you still want to come over for lasagna tomorrow?" 

Emma's face lit up and she rapidly nodded. "YES!" The joy in her voice couldn't be unheard. Neither could the hope in her eyes been unseen. 

Regina smiled at Emma's happy demeanor. "Have a good night, Emma." 

"You too." 

Walking back to her own room, Regina released a long sigh. She was too much of a chicken to just 'go for it'. 

Maybe tomorrow would be better? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promised a loooong evening and you got one ;-) you didn’t thought something inappropriate would happen did you? :-P can’t let that happen so fast ;-)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My new apartment is almost ready-furnished, moving had been really stressful and time consuming, but luckily most of it is done by now^^ and as I was finally ready to start writing again, it was suddenly SwanQueenWeek and I got a little distracted ;-)

Emma would be arriving in less than an hour and this time Regina was prepared. She had repeated the phrase 'go get her' a million times today and she was determined to make a move on Emma. Regina had taken the afternoon off to go grocery shopping, taking a shower and preparing the lasagna. The table was already set, the wine bottle opened and after consideration she had put away the candle. Yeah, the candle had been definitely too much. This was supposed to be a meal between friends, even if Regina intended it to be more. 

She wore a black skirt with a dark blue blouse that could be considered casual but because of its short skirt and noticeable cleavage it was also sexy. The black seductively lace she was wearing was hidden underneath and Regina was proud at the fact that it pointed out her sexy figure. 

Palms sweaty and hands wringing, Regina paced through the kitchen. “Go get her. You can do it. Breath in.” She took a deep breath. “And out.” 

Calming her nerves didn't work. As the clock got closer to 7pm, the faster she was pacing through the kitchen. At some point Regina thought she might die of a heart attack before she would actually see Emma. Instead of pacing around she sat at the kitchen table, but her feet didn't hold still and she was tapping at the floor with her high heels. Yes, she wore high heels even though she liked to walk around with thick, warm, cuddly socks when she was in her apartment, but for gods sakes she was going to tell Emma that she liked women, especially one particular blonde with a fondness for lasagna. And no she was not talking about Kathryn here. Maybe she shouldn't use the word blonde, this could mislead to a misunderstanding. She was going to tell Emma that she liked her sense of humor and would ask if Emma wanted to go on a date with her. 

Which was weird considering they would go for drinks on Thursday. Was it weird? Maybe. Definitely. Why hadn't she asked Kathryn for help to prepare some kind of speech? 

Speech. Oh dear lord. That sounded like she was going to marry Emma. Holy shit. She just wanted a date with Emma and see how this whole relationship package would turn out with her. Spending evening’s together, eating dinner, talking about personal stuff, ending up in bed together. 

Was it getting hotter here? Maybe her oven was broken. “You can get her. Just go for it.” 

Regina glanced every few seconds at the clock. It was only a few more minutes before the clocks hand touched the seven but it felt like an eternity. Her fingers had started to drum at the kitchen table and her breathing was uneven. She was still not sure what to say and how she should say it. This morning it had been all so clear and she had knew what to say. Writing it down would have been a good idea, but she had felt so confident and strong that she thought she would pass the day with flying colors. 

When the knock sounded on the door, Regina almost fell off the chair. Another glance to the clock showed her, that she had still two minutes before 7pm. Emma was too soon. Okay maybe she was right on time, but it felt way too soon for Regina. 

Was her make-up good? Was her dress still okay? She had used deodorant, right? 

“Breathe. Just breathe. And go get her.” 

While standing up and walking to open the door, she repeated the phrase ‘go get her’ a few more times. At the door she saw that her hands were trembling and with another deep breath she tried to steady herself and prepared herself to face Emma. Fear overcome her. She wasn’t ready to do this. What if Emma rejected her? What if this went all wrong? 

Regina forced herself to smile, despite her fear and opened the door. 

“Hi.” Emma was happily smiling, the image of a kid waiting to get their present crossed Regina's mind as she held the door open for Emma to come inside. 

“Hey.” Regina's voice came out hoarse as she welcomed Emma. The nervousness took over her body and with a cough she tried to shake it off. 

“You're alright?” Emma’s happy smile was replaced with a worried look and Regina tried her best to mask her own insecurities and nervousness. 

“Yes, just a little scratch in the throat. I’m fine. Come on in.” Regina put as much reassurance in the sentence as she could offer. She needed this evening to be as perfect as she had planned, she wouldn’t let her nervousness interfere with her plan. 

Emma eyed her for a suspiciously long moment. “You sure you're okay? Your forehead is sweaty.” Regina was embarrassed by that statement. That was not the nice compliment she had hoped for when she had dressed up earlier. “Are you feeling hot?” Before Regina could answer, she felt Emma’s cool hand on her forehead and any kind of verbal response was gone. The gesture was to intimate and Regina stood there, frozen in time, like a deer in the headlights. “You do feel a little hot. Are you getting a fever?” 

“...ehm...” 

“Why haven’t you said something? If I had knew you were feeling sick I wouldn’t had forced you to cook for me.” Emma said worried with a furrowed brow. “How about you go sit down in the living room and I will take over in the kitchen.” 

“I’m fine. Really.” Regina could already feel the disappointment cursing through her body. This wasn’t the direction this evening should go. “Dinner is almost ready, the timer should beep in a few minutes. How about something to drink?” Regina was about to make her way to the kitchen when Emma grabbed her arm. A tingling sensation made its way through Regina’s body, she hoped Emma couldn’t feel the way her body reacted to the touch. 

“How about I prepare our drinks and you go change your work clothes? These stilettos must kill you.” Emma said softly and smiled gentle at her. 

Change the clothes? It had cost half the afternoon to decide on what to wear and now Emma wanted her to change? Change the glorious high heels that made her legs look so much sexier. Change the short skirt which let others see more of her tight when she sat down. Change the blouse where she had purposely undid one extra button, so Emma would get a better view. Yeah. Change all that. 

Emma shoved her kindly away from the kitchen and towards the bedroom. “Take your time. I will take care of everything.” 

Regina just nodded. Trying to blink away the tears that started to form in her eyes. She quickly turned and entered her bedroom before Emma could see the tears falling. As soon as the door closed the first tear ran down Regina’s cheek. 

This was far from what she had imagined. 

This was a miserable start. More tears ran down her cheek and Regina caught them with her fingers, being made aware that her make-up was now ruined. “Great. That’s just great.” As she walked to her nightstand to dry her tears with tissues, Regina reassured herself that it was just a bad start. It could still turn out fine. “You can still do this. Go get her.” 

With the little confident that was left, Regina redid her make-up and with a heavy heart, got rid of her stilettos. She didn't change her dress, it had took hours to find the right one. Looking at the mirror she checked her appearance again. "You can do this. Be cool...or at least less awkward." Taking one last long breath, she stepped out of her room. She still had a chance to make a move on Emma, her delicious lasagna would turn the mood around. 

She found Emma in the living room, placing a mug - a mug??? - and a glass of water at the table. When Regina had said she wanted to make drinks, she had thought about wine or some sort of cocktail, not water and whatever that was in that mug. 

"Hey." Regina made herself present. 

"Hey, come here, sit down." Emma said gentle and Regina followed the offer. "I made you some tea. Do you want some honey or sugar?" 

Regina looked perplexed at Emma. 

Tea? 

Tea was not something that would stir up the mood. Tea was the opposite of a mood-raiser, it was a _mood-killer_. This was definitely the wrong direction they headed. 

"I think..." Regina began, but when Emma placed her hand again on her forehead, she forgot the rest of the sentence. 

"Would you like to have a blanket?" 

"No." Regina's response was weak and her voice was barely above a whisper, but the touch of Emma's fingers on her forehead made it impossible difficult to concentrate on anything else. 

The timer choose this moment to make it clear that the food was now ready. Emma turned her head to the kitchen, withdrawing her hand. "I will be right back." Emma left the living room and Regina sighed. This was so not the way it was supposed to be. It wasn't that difficult to clarify that she wasn't sick, so why didn't she just say that? She had to correct this misunderstanding. As soon as Emma would enter the room, she would tell her that she wasn't sick and that they needed to talk. 

It took a while before Emma entered the room again with two plates, both with a piece of lasagna. Regina's determination was dwindling the moment she saw Emma's smile. 

"Sorry, I forgot to wait for your answer regarding the tea. Do you want honey or sugar or anything else?" 

"...ehm...fine...I mean...tea...just...tea is fine." Regina stuttered. As soon as the words had left her mouth she wanted to groan and bang her head against a wall. What the hell was she doing? It was like none of her body parts were functioning correct. Her brain shut off every time she saw Emma's sparkling smile, her mouth only produced incoherent sentences and her body language was everything else than confident. 

"Here." Emma handed her one plate. "You need to get strong so you can beat that fever." 

Regina forced herself to smile. "Thanks." Emma was so sweet while caring about her and Regina felt so awful because she wasn't sick. Somehow she felt like lying and cheating on Emma and that left an uncomfortable feeling in her chest. Why was everything going so wrong? 

"Would you rather watch some TV or do you want to talk?" Emma asked. "I can also leave if I'm bothering you. No hard feelings." 

That statement shocked Regina a little. Emma was anything than bothering her. "TV is fine." Regina said quickly, not wanting to get out more stuttering sentences while talking to Emma. She was sure she wouldn't survive a whole meal without embarrass herself. "I do enjoy your company." Regina realized how cheesy that must sound and her cheeks began to blush. Emma didn't notice it or she thought it was because of the fever, either way, Emma didn't commented on Regina's colored cheeks. 

"Anything you want to watch? Drama, Comedy, Action?" 

"How about that crappy show of yesterday?" Regina suggested, she didn't watch movies or shows often so she didn't know what she would want to watch. 

"Sure." Emma said and turned the TV on. 

On second thought, maybe that wasn't such a good idea. What if Emma asked that 'who is your type' question again? Sure, she could tell her that she liked that particular stubborn woman. That she liked women in general. That had been her original plan for today. But she could hardly ask Emma if she wanted to go on a date with a sick person. No, that wasn't a good idea. Otherwise, it would be a good opportunity to out herself in front of Emma. She could ask later for a date, when she was healthy again. But she wasn't really ill. How long did she have to fake an illness? How long did a fever usually last? Regina hadn't been ill for decades, was there anything she needed to consider while playing ill? 

"You okay?" Emma asked worried. "You haven't eaten anything yet." 

"Huh?" Regina glanced to her own plate, than to Emma, than to Emma's plate. Her own plate was still untouched and Emma had already eaten half of her lasagna piece. "I...eh...I was just..." just what? Excuse! She needed an excuse! 

"Maybe you should lay down. Get some rest." Emma suggested. "You must have had an exhausting day. Working all day, then going grocery shopping and cooking lasagna." Emma looked guilty as she said the last part of her sentence. 

"I'm fine." 

"You've been saying that since I came, but your hot forehead tells a different story." 

"It's nothing." For god’s sake, it was really nothing, but now she couldn't tell that Emma anymore. Not without laying bare that she had only felt hot because Emma had touched her. "Let's continue to watch this episode." 

Emma looked at her intensely, clearly thinking about what to do next. "Alright, but after this episode is over you will lay down and rest." 

Regina nodded. "Sure." She turned her head towards the TV, trying to catch up on what had happened while she had been too caught up in her thoughts. She also started to eat her piece of lasagna, but she didn't have any appetite, her own guilty feelings of lying to Emma made it impossible to enjoy her meal. Half of the lasagna piece stayed untouched on her plate. The story of the show wasn't that captivating, so Regina's attention switched back to her thoughts. About what they would do afterwards. Somehow she needed to lay down to keep up her appearance of an ill person, but that didn't mean they couldn't continue watching. Or they could just talk, but that was dangerous, too many opportunities to embarrass herself. Continue watching shows seemed like a good plan. 

After the end credits rolled, Regina realized that Emma hadn't once asked the question of who Regina's type was. She struggled whether she should just burst it out or if she should keep quiet. 

"Not hungry anymore?" Emma asked and motioned towards Regina's plate. 

Regina shook her head to signal Emma that she wasn't hungry and to signal herself that it felt out of context to just scream out that she liked women. She would have to find another time. 

"I will take care of the kitchen before I leave." Emma said, took both plates and was out of the room before Regina comprehended the sentence. 

Leaving? Already? 

Regina quickly stood up and followed Emma into the kitchen. She entered the room the same time Emma put the half eaten lasagna in the fridge. 

"I will put the rest which is still in the casserole also in the fridge." Emma said as she noticed that Regina was in the kitchen. 

"You're not staying?" Regina asked tentatively. 

"Do you want me to? Should I make you another tea? Get you a blanket?" 

Regina's stomach filled with guilt. Emma would only stay because she thought there was an ill person here who needed to be cared for. "No, no. I'm fine." Regina quickly reassured, she couldn't stand to lie any longer to Emma. "You can take the casserole with the rest of the lasagna with you." 

"Are you sure? What will you eat if you get hungry later?" 

"You just put a half-eaten piece in the fridge. That will be enough for me." 

"It's not that much. You need energy to fight that illness of yours." Emma reasoned. 

"I do have plenty of other things to eat should I get hungry. Right now I just want to get laid." Regina's eyes widened with shock. "Lay down. I meant lay down, not..." Her cheeks got incredible hot. "...lay down to get some rest. Not..." 

Emma burst out in laughter, holding her stomach. "I think I got it." 

Wasn't there a hole somewhere where she could hide for the rest of her life? 

Emma's laughter slowly decreased and with an amused grin she looked at Regina. Regina couldn't hold eye contact, her cheeks burned out of embarrassment and her heart beat wildly in her chest. Why on earth was this happening to her? 

"You sure I can leave you alone?" Emma asked amused. 

"I'm... 

"...fine. Yeah, you mentioned that once or twice." Emma said, still a smile on her lips. "Is there anything else you need before I leave? Besides getting..." 

"I'm fine." Regina quickly interrupted before Emma could end her sentence. She was sure how it would have ended. 

Emma chuckled and turned to the casserole. "Okay, Miss Fine, if there isn't anything else I can do, I would leave." 

Regina only nodded, not trusting her mouth anymore. 

"Call me if you need any help. It doesn't matter how late it is." Emma offered, took the casserole and went to the front door. 

"That's...thanks." Regina said while following Emma, cheeks still burning. 

Emma opened the door and turned around to face Regina with a smile. "Get well soon." 

"Thanks." 

"Bye, Miss Fine." Emma chuckled. 

"Bye." 

As the door closed, Regina felt incredible lonely in her apartment. She had ruined it. She had ruined it in a glamorous way. The guilt in her stomach threatened to eat her alive. She walked to her bedroom and laid face downwards onto her bed. She would never get out of bed again. 


	8. Chapter 8

Truth be told, Regina really did feel sick the next day. But not because she had a fever, no, her guilt and shame had mixed up and were harboring in her stomach, fighting over the fact which one was more powerful. Was lying to Emma or acting like a fool around her worse? 

The previous night had been restless, Regina had pondered what she could have done differently. There had been so many possibilities, so many various outcomes, the evening could have been so different. She had played all those scenarios in her head in some kind of loop, leaving her in some kind of vicious circle, making everything that had happened look even worse. Now she had a headache and was exhausted. 

Her first instinct after getting up had been to make herself a cup of tea, but tea was the last liquid she wanted to see right now. For a moment she had considered drinking that bottle of wine she had opened yesterday before Emma had come by, but it was only 8:24 and it looked a little desperate to start the day so early with alcohol. 

Right now, Regina was lying on her couch, she had called sick at the office and instead of a soothing cup of tea or a desperate glass of wine, Regina drank water, getting herself caught up once again in thoughts of 'if only'. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 

Regina woke up on the couch, not knowing why. The clock on her phone showed 10:02, it also showed three missed messages and one missed call. Apparently Emma had told Kathryn that she was sick, but Regina was not in the mood for human contact, not even her best friend. 

Making her way slowly to the kitchen, Regina refilled her glass with water, drinking it in slow gulps. Beside the guilt and shame there was nothing in her stomach, not since the half piece of lasagna from yesterday. She opened the fridge, avoiding to look at the lasagna, instead she took out some cream cheese and closed the fridge again. She managed to get the toast and spread the cream cheese on top of it, one slice was all she ate before she settled back on the couch again. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 

The next time Regina woke from her restless sleep was at 12:48. It had been again the ringing of her mobile phone that had woken her. Regina sighed, she would have to tell Kathryn that she was alright or otherwise Kathryn would come over to look after her. 

Regina didn't want to talk, she was not capable of handling any kind of human contact right now. She took her phone and saw the two missed calls from Kathryn, she also saw the several messages she had gotten from her. But what made her frown was the message she had gotten from Emma. It was only one and Regina struggled whether she wanted to read it or not. In the end her curiosity was stronger. 

_Hey, how are you feeling?_

Instantly Regina's guilt made itself present in the pit of her stomach. Emma was worried about her. She was about to write back that she was fine, but after typing the f for fine, she shook her head and deleted all letters. 

**I'm tired. I haven't slept too well.**

At least that was the truth. 

Regina wrote also a message to Kathryn, something about being tired and needing sleep. She hoped Kathryn would just leave her be for the day. The thought of telling someone the big failure she had made yesterday was an unbearable thought. Maybe the world would look better tomorrow, but today she just wanted to be alone and try to forget this embarrassing night. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 

When the doorbell rang at 16:37, Regina knew her attempt to keep Kathryn away had failed. Still, she was as quiet as she could, pretending not to be home. After a while Regina heard the door lock to be unlocked, cursing herself for giving Kathryn the spare key. "Regina? Are you home? I brought food." Kathryn called through the apartment. 

"Living room." Regina called back. 

The rustling of plastic bags could be heard as well as Kathryn's footsteps on the floor, she entered the room with a worried look. "Hey Sweetie, how are you feeling?" 

Regina shrugged, not knowing what she should say. She didn't want to talk about the disastrous evening, neither wanted she to lie to her best friend. "I'm...just tired." 

"Cut that crap." 

Regina's eyes grew wide, looking disbelieving at Kathryn, who had sat down right next to her on the couch. "Excuse me?" 

"You are not going to tell me that you're sick. I'm not believing that. Yesterday you had been all healthy and excited about your evening with Emma, but suddenly Emma comes home early, telling me you're sick, so something must have gone wrong. What was it? Was she not interested? Is she a bad kisser?" 

"I...no...what?" Shaking her head, Regina tried to get back her balance. This kind of ambush was fast, even for Kathryn. "It's nothing like that." 

"Something happened yesterday. I want to know what. Here." Kathryn grabbed a bottle that had been hidden in her bag. "I brought tequila. So whatever that bitch did to you, we will drown that stupid memory and then I'm going to kick her out for being a bitch." Her face was all serious and her statement sounded like she had already made up her mind about kicking Emma out. 

A small smile appeared on Regina's lips, Kathryn always knew what she needed and she always had her back. Even if that meant making questionable decisions or insulting innocent people. 

Regina took the bottle of tequila, unscrewed it and took a gulp. It did burn a little and the lemon was missing, but she didn't care. "Emma didn't do anything." 

Kathryn took the bottle. "Then I will kick her out for doing nothing." She said before she also took a gulp of the shining liquid. 

"No, you don't understand. I screwed up. I..." Regina let out a big sigh. "I don't know what's wrong with me. Whenever Emma is near me, everything goes wrong." 

"What happened?" 

"I need at least half of that bottles content in my system before I will tell you." 

Kathryn handed her back the bottle and unpacked the food container she had brought with her. "Here. I assume you haven't eaten yet." 

"Thanks." 

"So, what happened?" 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 

"And then she left." Regina said, completing the story about what had happened yesterday. The food container were already empty, discarded on the coffee table. The bottle of tequila however was still half full and rotated between them two. 

"Oh Sweetie, that was...I'm not sure if I should laugh or cry." 

"You're doing both of it since I started this story." Regina said with a grin. 

"True." Kathryn agreed with a grin of her own. "So, what have you planned for the next time you see her? Thursday, right?" 

"No. No no no no no." Regina hastily said. "I'm not going to see her. I'm sick and I will be sick for the rest of the week." 

"What? Why? Come on Regina, you're not really sick. She is totally into you. The looks she gave you during our movie night. She cares about you while she thinks you're sick. You have to make a move now." 

"I don't." Regina said, taking back the bottle and taking another sip. "I don't plan on seeing her again. Ever." 

"It was just one setback..." 

"Feels like I had a hundred." Regina interrupts. 

"One setback." Kathryn said again, empathizing it and looking stern at Regina. "That woman is into you, she is hot and apparently sweet. You can't let her slip through your fingers. I'm here for you. I will help you. I will get you whatever you need. Whatever needs to be done, I will do it." 

"Like throwing her out of your apartment?" Regina said sarcastically. 

"If that is what you want me to do, I will do it. But I may have been a little hasty with that suggestion. At that time I thought she had hurt you, rejected you, or something like that. Seems like she hasn’t. Quite the contrary, she cares about you." 

"Maybe. Maybe not." 

"She does and I will help you win her over." 

"You will do whatever I want?" Regina asked to validate that statement. 

"Yes. I don't care if it is illegal or embarrassing or includes stealing an animal. We are going to get you this girl." 

"There is one thing." Regina said, but hesitated, not saying the rest. 

"Yes? What is it?" 

"But you have to promise that you won't ask questions and you are not going to criticize my decision. When we do this, we do it my way." 

"That sounds so exciting. Okay, let's do this. No questions asked." Kathryn got visible exciting, bouncing at the couch and eagerly wanting to hear the battle plan. 

"Okay. I don't want to see Emma again and you are not going to push me towards her." 

"Wha..." 

"No Kathryn, I made up my mind. I can't act normal when I'm around her. I can't do this anymore. It's always awkward and I would like to have a little dignity left when I'm dying of embarrassment." 

"But..." 

"You promised you wouldn't criticize my decision." 

"But she is into you. You could have hot lesbian sex with her." 

"Please Kathryn, you promised. I can't do this anymore. It feels like riding a roller coaster and you know how much I hate roller coaster." 

"You were twelve and it was just because you ate that terrible junk food right before the ride." 

"You were encouraging me to do that! Anyway, it doesn't matter. Can I count on you?" 

Kathryn let out a frustrated sigh. "God damn it. This is such a stupid idea and I can't tell you **how** stupid it is because I promised not to criticize you." She gestured wildly with her arms before she looked into Regina's pleading eyes and admitted defeat. "Okay, I will play along, but for the record: This is such a big mistake." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear reader who told me to ‘fix this’,  
> I told you I have no idea what fix it means :-P  
> Sincerely, your evil writer ;-)


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the album I listened to while writing this chapter. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZsW6M1VA7k> In the end notes you will find a list of the songs I have mentioned.

The Roommate Chapter 9 

Regina had thought that after canceling the drinks invitation for Thursday, she wouldn't hear back from Emma. They didn't had any contact before, so why would they start now. Right? It would be easy to avoid having contact with Emma. 

Well, Saturday Emma send a message, asking if Regina needed saving from the boredom of being sick. Not being able to rudely ignore Emma's request, Regina had declined politely, saying she still needed some rest. 

On Monday Emma asked if Regina was feeling better and if she was still at home or already at work. Regina send a message back, telling Emma that she was back at work, but because of her absence she had tons of work waiting for her. Regina hoped that Emma would get the hint and wouldn't ask for a meeting. Emma didn't, and Regina was glad about that. 

Wednesday Emma send another message. She asked if Regina needed a break from work and said she would come over with food so Regina didn't have to cook. It was hard to decline that one, but Regina managed. 

When Friday arrived, Regina was sure that Emma would write another message. She was wondering what she should write back this time. What kind of excuse would be polite and could distance herself from Emma? The more time passed the antsier she got. When early evening arrived, she couldn't take it any longer and called Kathryn. 

"I need your help." 

"Hello to you too." Kathryn greeted on the other end with an audible smile in her voice. "How can I help you?" 

"Emma keeps texting me and I need an excuse for not seeing her. One that doesn't sound too hurtful." 

"Mmmhhh...how about: Sorry Hottie, you are too sexy for me, I'm melting when you're standing beside me." Kathryn's giggling could be heard on the other end and Regina rolled her eyes. 

"Not helpful." 

"It is what you wanted, an excuse that isn't hurtful." 

"Try again." 

"Okay." Kathryn's mischievous grin could have probably be seen from out of space. At least, that was what Regina was thinking, as well as that it had been a stupid idea to call Kathryn. "Text her that you can't bear to see her anymore. At least nowhere else than between your legs." 

"Kathryn!" Regina growled. 

"It's the truth!" 

"Just forget that I ever called." Regina said angrily, ready to end the call. 

"Wait, wait. I will stop, okay? How about we discuss this in person? I will behave, I promise." 

"I don't have any wine left, but there is a cider in the cabinet." 

"No!" Kathryn protested vehement. "We are not hanging around at your apartment again. We haven't been out since...since...your obsession with my roommate." 

"It's not an obsession." Regina objected. 

"Yeah, sure." Kathryn didn't sound convinced. "Anyway, if you want to talk, we are going to do that somewhere else. How about the bar with the jazz music?" 

"Fine." Regina grumbled. "But you have better prepared some **helpful** arguments when you arrive." 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 

"Now tell me, what she had written today? What kind of excuse do you need? You haven't written her already have you?" Kathryn asked after the waiter had brought them their drinks. 

The bar was dim lit with pleasant jazz music surrounding them. The little platform for the live bands was empty tonight. Maybe that was the reason why the bar wasn't crowded. The background was filled with the gentle conversations of the other customers as well as the occasional glass jingle. They sat in a booth at the back of the bar, a window right beside them so they could watch the street outside. The atmosphere was relaxing and Regina wondered why they didn't come here more often. Ray Charles' Georgia on my mind was filling the room and Regina felt the urge to hum along. 

"I haven't written her anything..." Regina began. 

"That's good." 

"...because she hasn't send a text yet." 

Kathryn's eyes grew wide. "Wait, you ordered me here with a panic phone call, although Emma hasn't even texted you?" 

"If I remember correctly **you** ordered **me** here. **I** wanted to stay at home." 

Kathryn rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Can we come back to the point where we discovered Emma hasn't texted you and you panic about needing an excuse." 

"She will. She had send a message every two days, which means I will get another text today." 

"You really have it bad." Kathryn stated. 

"I don't!" 

"I hope you are aware that this kind of behavior isn't healthy." Kathryn said while shaking her head. "Drink up! If you really want my help with this, we both need another round. I will not start this nonsense unless I have more alcohol in my veins." 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 

Regina nipped at her second drink, while listening with one ear to what Kathryn had to say, with the other she listened to Nat King Cole, singing Unforgettable. Kathryn had switched the topic during their first drink, she now talked non-stop about her boyfriend. Regina had hoped that they would switch back when they started their second round, but up until now, Kathryn didn't show any tendency to stop talking about Frederick. 

"I mean, can you believe that he fell asleep during the movie?" 

An acknowledging sound was all Regina made. Although she actually could believe that. In fact, she had also fallen asleep while watching this boring corny love romance Kathryn had recommended her a few months ago. Luckily Kathryn hadn't been around at that time to judge her. She had hoped that Kathryn would pick up on her disinterest for the topic and they would talk about something else, someone else to be precise, but Kathryn didn't seem to stop anytime soon. It was somehow ironic that the song Unforgettable was playing, it was without a doubt impossible for Regina to forget about Emma. The whole week Regina had thought about what Emma might think of her, what she was doing and if there was a tiny possibility that Emma liked her back. 

"And then he had the audacity to suggest we could watch another movie next time, something _'more interesting'_. I mean, really? There exists no better movie than..." 

"Hey girls, I was about to call you because I had trouble finding you back here." 

In her shock, Regina forgot how to swallow right and choked, coughing to get some air back into her lungs. 

"You alright?" Emma asked, while she got out of her red jacket, leaving her in a gray sweater. _Could she see Emma's bra through the fabric?!?_

"She will be in a minute." Kathryn answered for Regina, who was still trying to catch her breath. "We already started without you, why don't you go to the bartender and get yourself a drink." 

Emma placed her jacket beside Kathryn. "Sure, should I bring anything for you guys?" 

"We're good, thanks." 

"Kay." Emma said and turned to get herself a drink at the bar. 

"What the hell Kathryn?!? What is she doing here? You promised you wouldn't..." 

"Wouldn't push you towards her and I didn't. She asked what I would do tonight and when I told her I would get drinks with you later and she asked if she could come along. What was I supposed to tell her? _Sorry you can't tag along, my friend will be too distracted imagining your mouth on her pussy._ " 

"KATHRYN?!" Regina screamed while she tried not to raise her voice. She craned her neck to see if Emma had heard anything, but it seemed like Emma was in a conversation with the bartender. 

"She is making eyes on you every time, she cared about you while you were sick, she texted you all week, she practically begged me to invite her. Seriously Regina, if this doesn't show you that she is into you I don't know what will." 

"You said you wouldn't push me towards her!" 

"And I'm not pushing you! Emma is the one pushing. And I really hope she will also push you tonight. Heaven knows you need to get laid soon." 

"KATHRYN! I can't believe...oh...sshhh...she comes back, act normal." But Regina didn't know where to put her hands, she fumbled with her glass, brushed her hair back, drummed with her fingers on the table and then entwined her fingers underneath the table. It felt like her own movements felt wrong and not at all natural. 

"Well, what are you guys talk about?" Emma asked as she was back. Regina breathed a sigh of relief as Emma sat beside Kathryn and not her, she was not sure if she could handle to be so close to Emma. 

Her heart suddenly left out a beat. Emma had asked a question. They could not tell her about what they had talked. 

"About Frederick, he fell asleep during a marvelous movie." Kathryn explained calmly. Regina had no idea how Kathryn could be so calm, she herself had already sweaty armpits. 

"Mmmhhh." Emma said with disinterest, causing Regina to grin. Seemed like Emma was as enthusiastic as Regina when it came to listening to the hundredth story of Frederick. 

"What kind of movies did you watch while you were sick?" Emma turned her attention to Regina. 

"What?" Maybe talking about Frederick wasn't that bad. Definitely better than be so intensely looked at by Emma. "I...eh...I read." 

"What book? Maybe I have seen the film version." Emma said with a grin. 

"Eh...The...eh...it's really not a popular book." Seeking help Regina looked at Kathryn, but her best friends’ attention was caught by her mobile phone. 

"Is the title so embarrassing that you can't tell me?" Emma asked rather amused. 

"...No." It didn't sound convincing, truth be told, Regina couldn't even remember what the story of the book was, neither did she know the tittle, not to mention how it looked like. Emma's sudden present and the fact that if she looked closely, she could see Emma's dark bra, messed with her head. "It..." 

RINGEDING 

Saved by the bell. 

"That's Frederick." Kathryn announced joyful. "Be right back." Emma stood up to let Kathryn through and sat down back after Kathryn was out of earshot. 

"How is it being back at work?" Emma's attention was once again solely focused on Regina. It made her nervous and her heart beat irregular. 

"I have to work." 

Emma chuckled. "That's what someone usually does on its job." 

"...I mean, a lot...I have a lot of work." Regina could feel her cheeks getting redder. Where was Kathryn? 

"Luckily for both of us that the weekend arrived. Do you have plans for the weekend?" 

_It's a trap! It's a trap! Don't fall for it!_

Regina's warning bells went off, telling her that if she didn't had an excuse, Emma would most likely ask if they could do something together. This would interfere with her plan to avoid Emma. 

"I already have plans." It was a lie, but who cares. 

"What have you planned?" 

"Eh...what?" Why did she have to ask? Where the hell was Kathryn? 

"I asked what your plans for the weekend are. I thought we could hang out again, have a girl’s night, you know." 

"...ehm..." Regina's mouth was dry and she stalled by taking a mouthful of her drink. "Aren't we having one right now?" 

"Point taken." Emma said with a laugh. 

Kathryn approached the booth and Regina was incredible relieved. Her best friend could act as a puffer again, saving her from uncomfortable questions. 

"You two seem to have fun, that's good. Frederick just asked me if I want to have a fancy dinner with him, so you two are one your own." 

"WHAT?" 

Both blondes looked irritated at Regina. Maybe her outburst had been a little too impulsive, but Kathryn had practically thrown a bucket full of cold water over her head. "I mean, you're ditching me...us...for...some guy." 

"This guy happens to be my boyfriend and I'm not ditching you, I will just rearrange our meeting. I will text you later. **Have fun**." Kathryn said with a wink and the double entendre wasn't lost on Regina. She knew exactly what Kathryn meant with _fun_. 

"You too, have a nice time." Emma said while waving Kathryn goodbye. Regina on the other hand could only stare after Kathryn with her jaw practically on the floor. Had her best friend really left her alone? 

Emma smiled brightly at her. "So, it's just the two of us now." 

Regina closed her mouth again, trying a smile of her own. It felt more like a forced grimace, but she hoped Emma wouldn't question it. 

She would kill Kathryn. 

Slowly and painful. 

Yes, she would definitely kill her. 

"The music is nice, do you like jazz?" 

Torn from her murderous thoughts about killing her best friend, Regina blinked a few times before her eyes focused on Emma's. Had they always been this green? Regina knew that Emma eyes were a mixture of blue, green and a little bit brown around the iris, but tonight they looked only green. 

"I...yes. I like it." Sensing that this was a too short answer, Regina added. "It's relaxing and...I don't know...it's...nice." Furrowing her brow, Regina scrunched her nose at her own words. That was a terrible explanation why she liked jazz. 

A soft chuckle escaped Emma and Regina immediately wished she could hear that sound more often. "I get it." Emma said, humming along to the music. "Frank Sinatra, the lady is a tramp." She stated. "I didn't knew he sang a solo version. I only know the version where he sings with Ella Fitzgerald and that one has way more beat. But this slow version is kinda nice too." 

"Mmhhh." Regina was too distracted, figuring out why Emma's eyes didn’t seem to have any blue in it, there had to be a hint of blue somewhere, right? 

"How did you guys find this place?" 

"...eh...Kathryn had a blind date and we somehow went to the wrong location and ended here." 

Emma grinned over the brim of her glass. "We?" 

Regina's cheeks turned red as she realized that most people would find it weird that a friend would accompany a blind date. "It's not like I sit with them or anything. You know Kathryn by now, so you know she has a lively imagination sometimes. She has the fantasy that if she goes on a blind date alone, the guy could turn out as a creep and will abduct her or anything like that. I stay at the bar and make sure the guy won't put something in her drink and drag her into a big black van." 

Emma looked even more amused. "So you are basically a stalker." 

"I..." Feeling uncomfortable, Regina looked into her glass. It did sound weird saying it out loud like that. Emma was right, even though she had never felt like a stalker. She had just been a good friend, giving in at Kathryn's pleas and making sure that she was safe. Rescuing her if the guy turned out to be boring or disgusting. Insecurities made itself present in Regina's mind. "You don't think this is creepy, do you?" 

"What?" 

"Me, accompany my friend to a blind date." 

"Like you said, I know Kathryn by now. I know she can be weird sometimes. The only reason I became her roommate this fast, is because she was afraid of living alone. Not because she is afraid of burglar, no, she is afraid of ghosts." Emma shook her head at the memory, but smiled. "I guess we all have some weird habits, but being afraid of meeting some creepy dude on a blind date is not at all weird. Do you guys switch sometimes roles? Does Kathryn stalk you when you have blind dates?" 

Regina noticed they entered dangerous territory here. If this conversation deepened, she would have to admit at some point that she liked women. But maybe Emma had realized that fact already after she had told her how awesome her arm muscles and ass are. Or maybe Emma thought that she hadn’t really meant it that way. What if Emma wasn’t interested in women at all? How would Emma react if she told her? Would it be an awkward moment? Would Emma reject her? What if Emma was interested in women but not into her? A week ago, she had almost told Emma that she liked her, but that night had gone terribly wrong. Her plan since than had been to avoid Emma, not talk about blind dates. 

"Thinking about a bad blind date?" 

Regina looked up, seeing that Emma looked at her with a little concern. Not being able to keep eye contact, Regina looked out the window. "Just caught up in thoughts." Why did she has to be such a coward? 

"What kind of thoughts?" Emma asked with genuine interest. 

"It's nothing." 

"Let me guess, next thing you tell me is you're fine." 

A smile tugged at Regina's lips. "How did you know that?" 

"I have visionary power." 

"Really?" 

"Yes, and I can also talk to ghosts." Emma said with a matter of fact serious tone. 

"Aren't you full of surprises." Regina laughed. "Although you shouldn't tell Kathryn, she might freak out." 

"You don't think she will join me and talk to my ghost buddys?" 

"Her last encounter with a ghost didn't end well." Regina paused. "At least for the ghost." 

Emma arched an eyebrow, looking expecting at Regina and motioned for her to go on. 

"We were twelve, I had a sleepover at Kathryn's house and I had the glorious idea to put a bed sheet over my head and wait for Kathryn to come back in the room. I dimmed all the lights and waited behind the door. After Kathryn entered the room, I jumped forward, making ghost noises..." 

"Ghost noises?" Emma asked with a grin, half chuckling. 

"...instead of screaming and running out of the room, like I had expected, Kathryn was screaming and hitting me with her riding helmet. I had a blue eye and a terrible headache for over a week." Emma was fully laughing by now, Regina joining her. "The worst part is, I didn't learn my lesson. About a year later I had the same idea again. That time I didn't make the mistake of staying too close to her. Four billiard balls hit me and again I had a blue eye." Emma was still laughing, so Regina added. "Maybe you want to reconsider your choice of inviting Kathryn to one of your ghost buddy evenings." 

"Yeah, might be better if I keep that a secret. Although I'm pretty curious now how Kathryn will react if I greet her with a bed sheet over my head." 

"You've been warned." Regina replied smiling. "You should have an ice pack at hand, just in case." 

"You're not with me? It could be fun." Emma winked at her, causing Regina to chuckle. 

"Thanks, but I think I'll pass." 

"Too bad." 

There was a moment of silence between them and Regina somehow panicked, not knowing what they should talk about. Her mind was like a blank page. This was part of what she had been afraid off. Her own awkwardness when she was around Emma and the incompatibility of thinking straight. 

"Any other funny anecdote you want to tell me?" Emma asked, her eyes all shining and a smile gracing her lips. 

"How about you tell one of your youth?" 

"They won't be as funny as yours." 

Regina thought she saw a glimpse of hurt in Emma's eyes before it vanished as fast as it had come. The assumption that there was something in Emma's past that troubled the blonde intensified. But it wasn't like Emma talked about her past. Asking questions wouldn't lead to anything except Emma sidestep the topic. Although Regina wanted to know more about Emma, she had the feeling pressuring Emma to tell about her past wasn't going to work. 

"It was around Christmas, we were like 9 or so." Regina began to lighten the mood again. "Kathryn had this huge, and with huge I mean like Empire State Building huge, crush on this boy in our class. She had brought Candy Canes to school to impress the whole class and of course to impress her crush. All the way to school she had been all cool and relaxed, telling me a thousand times that she would walk to this boy and give him a Candy Cane. Well, after arriving at school, Kathryn started to give some of our classmates their Candy Cane. Her crush came unexpected towards us, asking if he could have one too. In an eager attempt to give him the treat, Kathryn hit his face with the Candy Cane and his nose started bleeding." 

Emma chuckled. "Poor Kathryn." 

"Poor Kathryn? Poor me! Because Kathryn and I were inseparable at that time, the principle thought we had teamed up to beat up our classmates. We were lectured for an hour, although I hadn't done anything wrong." 

"Awww, poor you." Emma said, still chuckling. 

"Yes, I can feel your sympathy." Regina sarcastically replied. 

Emma smiled at her and for a moment Regina's heart skipped a beat. Emma was beautiful in this dimmed light. 

"But that was an embarrassing story about Kathryn, not about you. What kind of funny stories do you have about yourself?" 

A blush creeped up Regina's cheeks and she looked around the bar, avoiding the subject. "How about we just enjoy the voice of Aretha Franklin." 

"Aretha Franklin?" Emma looked up to the speakers. "That's Aretha Franklin singing right now?" 

"Yes, singing over the rainbow." 

"I know the song, but I didn't recognize her voice. Thinking about it, the only song I know from her is Respect. R-E-S-P-E-C-T." Emma began to sing in a low melodic voice, captivating Regina with it. "Find out what it means to me R-E-S-P-E-C-T, Take care TCB." 

Regina couldn't believe she had just heard Emma sing. It felt like such a precious moment, it made her speechless. 

"You wanna sing a song too?" Emma asked with a glint in her eyes. 

Irritated by the offer, Regina's mind searched for a quick escape. "Are you hungry? I'm hungry. Want to go and get a bite somewhere?" 

Ten minutes later they stood outside the bar, looking inquiring at each other. 

"What do you want to eat?" Emma asked. 

"No idea." 

"Burger?" 

Regina squinched up her face. There was no way to eat a burger gracefully and under no circumstances would she let Emma watch how she ate a burger. 

"How about Chinese? There is a take-out restaurant nearby." 

"Sounds good to me." 

They walked in comfortable silence for a while. An occasionally glance throwing towards the other and smiling when the other caught their eye. 

"Are you cold? Do you want to have my jacket?" 

"I'm fine." 

Emma grinned at that response. "Course you are. Why did I even ask." 

After a few more minutes of silent walking beside each other, they reached their destination. They entered the little Chinese take-out restaurant, both stopped in front of the board with the menu. Regina already knew what she would take, she always ordered the same here. While waiting for Emma to make up her mind too, Regina checked her messages. There was one unread from Kathryn. 

_How is your evening?_

**I'm going to kill you.**

_Woah, so bad?_

**No, it's nice. I'm still going to kill you.**

"I will take B5. You?" 

Regina looked up, searching for B5, interested in what Emma would eat. It was noodles, vegetables and beef. 

"I will take the rice with vegetables and chicken. A3." 

"Want to share some spring rolls?" 

Not being used to share food except with Kathryn, Regina was about to decline. But then the thought hit her that Emma wouldn't take them if she declined. Regina didn’t want Emma to go without the spring rolls, so she agreed. 

They ordered and paid, sitting down at one of the few tables, waiting for their food to be ready. 

"I didn't thought you would be the type who ordered food, from a Chinese take-out restaurant." 

Regina furrowed a brow. "Why not?" 

"The week we lived together you cooked every evening. You have like a ton of spices laying in your kitchen. You are obviously an excellent cook, I experienced that myself. So why would you order food?" 

"Because I'm like every other human being." 

"Meaning?" Emma asked irritated. 

"I'm lazy." Regina said with a grin. "Sure, I like cooking, but sometimes it is so much easier to just make a call and wait for the food to arrive." 

"Speak for yourself." Emma replied with a grin. 

Regina arched a brow. "Are you trying to tell me that you are not lazy? Really? You spend your evenings with lying on the couch and watching TV." 

"Do you think these abs form themselves overnight?" Pulling her sweater upwards, Emma provided a magnificent sight for Regina. Although Regina was too shocked in that moment to really enjoy the sight. Her eyes grew wide and almost bulged out of her head, her breath caught in her throat and her mouth was as dry as a desert. Regina's brain was not able to function, she just kept staring open mouthed at Emma's abs. "See, I'm not lazy." Emma said, a smug grin on her lips. She pulled her sweater back down, but Regina's brain was still not able to function properly. She had no idea how long she kept staring at Emma's now covered abs, but the image of Emma's skin and muscles were now burned in her mind, leaving no room for other thoughts. 

"A3 and B5. Spring rolls will come shortly." 

Regina blinked irritated towards the figure who was already leaving their table, two plates stood before them and Emma still had a smug grin on her face. A heat formed in Regina's cheeks. How long had she stared at Emma? 

"Enjoy your meal." 

"Y-Yes..." Regina stuttered. "...Y-You too." 

It was difficult to eat. Her mouth was still dry and all the capacity her brain possessed where occupied with the image of Emma's abs. The simple task of putting the fork in her mouth seemed like a difficult challenge. 

The spring rolls arrived at the table, but Regina hardly noticed. 

Why had Emma shown her abs? Was it just some weird joke? Was it a test to observe her reaction? Was Emma gay too? Counted this as flirting? How would it feel to touch Emma's stomach? When was Emma doing her workout? She had lived for over a week with the woman and had not once seen her doing some exercises. How would the rest of Emma's body look like? 

"You can have some spring rolls too, you know." 

"Huh?" 

Emma motioned towards the food that stood in the middle of the table. "I do know how share food." She said with a grin. 

"Thanks." Regina took one spring role, even though she wasn't hungry anymore. She had barely touched her food and she was sure she wouldn't be able to eat much more. 

They ate mostly in silence. Emma having a grin attached to her lips the whole time, while Regina had a hard time to put the fork in her mouth and not making a mess instead. 

"Where do we go next?" Emma asked after they had finished their meal. 

They stood outside again, unsure of what to do next. Regina had hoped they would say goodbye after dinner, although it had been nice beside the occasional awkward moments, cheeks blushing and abs incident. It had been a good time until now, but that could only mean it would get worse. 

"How about a karaoke bar?" Emma suggested. 

"What? No!" 

"Come on, you heard me singing, it's only fair I hear your voice too." 

"I talk to you, you can hear my voice." 

Emma rolled her eyes. "That's not the same and you know it." 

"How about a movie? Let's go to the cinema." 

"You don't like movies. Besides, there are no good movies right now. How about karaoke?" 

"How about another bar?" 

"Karaoke bar?" Emma asked with a grin. 

"No. Just a bar, no music." 

"Sounds boring. But I could be convinced if you promise to tell a funny, awkward or embarrassing story about your youth." 

Regina groaned. "You're evil." 

"Karaoke bar it is." 

"Fine, I will tell you one story. But only one, not more. Let's go find a nice, non-music-playing bar." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song - Artist  
> Georgia On My Mind - Ray Charles  
> Unforgettable - Nat King Cole  
> The Lady Is a Tramp - Frank Sinatra  
> The Lady Is a Tramp - Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald  
> Over the Rainbow - Aretha Franklin  
> Respect - Aretha Franklin


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Idisch for correcting most of my grammar mistakes (I disguised a few so she wouldn't find all of them ;-))

**The Roommate Chapter 10**

Sitting in her rocking chair by the window, Regina looked out, drinking her morning coffee and thinking about the previous evening she had spent with Emma. There was a smile attached to her lips since yesterday. One that didn't fade away, no matter what she did. 

After they had eaten, they had gone to another bar, a non-karaoke bar as Regina had insisted. Of course she had had to tell an embarrassing story about her youth, but Emma's laugh had made it worth to lose a bit of dignity. 

She couldn’t remember when she had felt this carefree, so content in someone’s present. Sure, Regina could be carefree with Kathryn too, but it didn't feel the same. It was somehow different, even if she couldn't tell why that was. 

The evening had ended way too fast, although she had become flustered a few times and more than once had gotten red cheeks. 

However, her mind had changed during their time together. 

The plan to avoid Emma was off the table. 

She wanted to see Emma again, to spend time with her and then - this time nothing was going to stop her - tell Emma that she liked her. 

But before she would do that, she would get her revenge on Kathryn. 

Kathryn had broken her promise not to push her. Yeah, yeah, technically Kathryn hadn't really pushed her, but she had approved to Emma that she could tag along and then she had disappeared in thin air, leaving her all alone in a situation she hadn't wanted to be in. Kathryn had been sneaky and evil, just like that time when she had put thousands of breadcrumbs in Regina’s sleeping bag. That time, Kathryn had to pay by waking up next to a wart covered frog and this time she was going to pay too. 

The question was, what kind of payback would be best? 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 

Later that day as Regina stood loaded with bags before Kathryn's apartment. She had made up an evil plan to get her revenge on her friend. Kathryn was out shopping with Frederick and Emma was out too, at least that was the reply she had gotten from Emma after texting and asking if she was home. With both parties away, it left her the perfect opportunity to convert her plan into reality. 

Regina rang the doorbell. Kathryn might be out for hours, but Emma could still have arrived at home. When Regina didn't hear any movements she decided to use the spare key she had gotten from Kathryn to use for emergencies. It was better that Emma wasn't at home, Regina had no idea how to explain what she was about to do. 

After entering, Regina went straight for Kathryn's room. The preparations would take a while, so she needed to start immediately. Getting caught would spoil the whole 'surprise'. 

Smiling, Regina unpacked all her bags, scanning Kathryn's room and considering the best places for all the items. An evil grin tugged at her lips. 

Oh this was so much fun. 

Soon the floor was scattered with paper and plastic, in the midst of it a humming Regina, placing the various items everywhere. 

"What is this?" 

Regina screamed and jumped against the bedside table, making the lamp fall on the floor. 

"What are you doing here? And how did you get in?" Emma stood in the doorframe, looking around, her eyes settling on Regina. She couldn't tell Emma the real reason why she was in Kathryn's room. 

"I...eh...this is...ehm...you're home." 

"Very observant, Sherlock." Emma crossed her arms. "Now tell me, what is all of this?" 

"Ehm...just...it's...eh...a surprise?" 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 

Regina breathed a sigh of relief when she was back at her own apartment, letting herself fall in the soft cushions of her couch. She had really thought Emma would declare her crazy, threw her out or something worse. 

But all Emma had done was laugh. 

Only a half-finished and stuttered explanation had caused Emma to break into laughter. Luckily for Regina, Emma hadn't asked many questions. She had stood by, looking curiously how Regina had prepared the last pieces of her evil plan. 

After finishing up the room, Emma had invited Regina for eating lunch together. Her heart had jumped excitingly in her chest, much like it was on a trampoline. But however excited she was to spend some time with Emma, she did not want to be near the apartment when Kathryn got home. 

Sitting on her couch now with a growling stomach, she regretted her decision. It was now long past Regina's usual lunch time and if her stomach didn't see something soon it would plague her for the rest of the day. For a second, the thought of calling a delivery service crossed her mind. The conversation from the previous evening with Emma about being lazy came to her mind and with it, the image of Emma's perfect abs, the soft skin Regina wanted to touch and kiss. How badly she wanted to taste Emma's pink lips, tangle her fingers in those blonde locks and hear her soft moan. 

A sigh escaped Regina's lips. Why hadn't she agreed to eat lunch with Emma? At least she would have seen the object of her desires. Now all she had was an aching between her legs and a lonely apartment. Which was in some kind calling her to retreat to the depths of her bedroom for an hour of satisfaction. 

Her angry growling stomach on the other hand prevented her from doing so. Regina sighed again and stood up. There had to be something in the kitchen she could eat. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 

Regina was sitting in her rocking chair again, reading a book when the sound of her phone revealed that she got a message. Laying the book down, Regina stood to retrieve her phone. After picking it up and walking back to her favorite spot, Regina read the message. It was from Emma. 

**:-DDDDD**

While wondering what exactly Emma had tried to tell her with that message, she got another one. 

**Kathryn for home :-D**

A second later it beeped again. 

***got**

Regina grinned, at least one of the two blondes had fun. 

**Can't write. Still laughing :-DDD**

While getting comfortable on her chair again, Regina wrote back. 

_I suspect Kathryn isn't laughing as much as you are? ;-)_

**Frederick is still trying to calm her down :-D Seriously, it was awesome. You should have heard her scream. Epic horror movie scream :DD**

_Glad that at least one of you is having fun ;-)_

**Good decision not to stay here. Pretty sure Kathryn is going to shred you into pieces when she sees you ;-)**

_I've survived worse ;-)_

**Worse? You have to tell me the background to that story :-) Tonight? We could watch movies afterwards**

_You are not going to trick me into revealing more of those embarrassing stories ;-)_

When the phone rang immediately after sending the message, Regina didn't even bother to wait and see who was calling. 

"Hey there." She said in a happy voice. It didn't came as a surprise that Emma would call and try to convince her to tell another one of those embarrassing stories. 

"YOU!!" 

Regina's smile vanished, taken aback by the hostile voice on the other end, until she realized it wasn't Emma who called. 

"YOU'RE DISINHERITED, UNFRIENDED AND OFFICIALLY DEAD TO ME!!!" 

Kathryn had always had a slight tendency to get melodramatic when her emotions were riled up. Regina knew that, as well as she knew it was mostly hot air. She rolled her eyes playfully, glad that Kathryn couldn't see the big grin on her face. She still tried her best to not let the big grin transport through the phone. She hardly managed. 

"Didn't you like your gifts?" 

"WHAT ON EARTH MADE YOU PUT A THOUSAND GHOSTS INTO MY ROOM??" 

"Hardly a thousand, it doesn't even reach the three digit section, there are only 27." 

"YOU...!! YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!!! I WILL MAKE YOU REGRET THIS!!! YOUR LAST HOUR HAS COME!!!!" 

"Just like you're regretting breaking your promise?" 

There was a short pause and the anger was replaced by confusion. "What...? I didn't break any promises!" 

"You said you wouldn't push me towards Emma!" Regina hissed, not telling that it was the best night she had had in years. That wasn't the point anyway. The point was that Kathryn had broken her promise. 

"I did not push you!" 

"You left me! Alone with her! For a whole! I repeat, A WHOLE evening! How is that not pushing?" 

"SHE wanted to see you!" 

"You could have declined!" 

"I tried! She was persistent! Besides, you texted me it was nice!" 

"That's not the point!" 

"Yes it is! You like her, she likes you! So what if I left you two little love birds alone!" 

"We are not love birds. We are not..." Regina struggled for words. "...anything." Regina could hear a gasp at the other end. 

"You're mad because you didn't get laid! That explains so much." 

"That's...it's not...you're being ridiculous! 

"You're more ridiculous!" 

"No, you're more ridiculous!" 

"No, you're more ridiculous!" 

It actually reminded Regina of two 5-year old girls fighting. Kathryn seemed to think the same thing, because they both started giggling simultaneously. They had these years of deep friendship and both knew nothing could destroy that, not even 27 ghosts. 

"We are acting childish." Regina stated. 

"You're more childish." The smile clearly audible in Kathryn's voice and Regina rolled her eyes at that comment. "Anyway, I will leave it to you to get rid of the bodies." 

"Bodies?" Regina asked confused. There had been a few glowing ghost figures a 5-foot cardboard ghost and other ghost stuff. No bodies. 

"You will come over and get this mess cleaned up!" 

"Yeah, yeah." Regina tried to sound disinterested, when in truth she was excited to see Emma over there. As she hang up, there was a message from Emma waiting for her. 

**So this story is also embarrassing? I will figure out a way so you will reveal it to me** **;-) You on the other hand should figure out a way to calm Kathryn down, she is really mad at you.**

Regina looked sarcastically at the phone. "Oh really? Thanks for the early heads up." 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 

Standing in front of Kathryn's apartment once more today, Regina felt an excitement circulating in her body. Only a few seconds separated her from seeing Emma again and that fact alone made the butterflies in her stomach flutter. She was slightly disappointed when instead of Emma, Kathryn opened the door. 

"Look who's here. An undead has found its way to this apartment." 

Regina rolled her eyes. "I'm not dead, ergo I'm not an undead." 

Instead of letting Regina inside, Kathryn stepped outside and closed the door behind her. "This was not funny, Regina." 

"It wasn't funny either to be left alone with Emma." Regina countered, her voice lowered so nobody beside Kathryn could hear her. 

"I haven't broken my promise and you know that." 

"You knew she would be joining us in the bar and you didn’t warn me." 

"Oh gosh, Regina, do you listen to yourself? You're crazy about her and for some dumb reason you don't want to spend time with her. Do us all a favor and just get laid already." Kathryn opened the door while Regina opened her mouth to respond, but before she could say something, Kathryn shouted into the apartment. "Frederick, are you coming? We're going!" 

"Wait? What? You're leaving?" 

"I will not spend another minute in this ghost hunted apartment! Get rid of it." A little lower she said. "Afterwards you can sleep with the hot chick and get your sexual frustration out of your system so you can act normal again. Just not in my bed. You know what, you can even sleep in my bed, just get laid already, but change the sheets afterwards." 

"Kathryn!" Regina gasped, hoping Emma wasn't close to the door and heard what Kathryn had said. 

Frederick chose that moment to come outside. "Hey babe, ready to go?" 

"Yes." Kathryn responded and turned to Regina. "Get rid of it." 

Regina rolled her eyes, although she wasn't exactly sure what she should get rid of. The ghosts or her sexual frustration. She watched how Kathryn and Frederick walked down the stairs before she entered the apartment and closed the door behind her. 

Excitement took over again as she thought about looking for Emma before she started cleaning. She didn't have to search long. Emma sat on the couch in the living room, watching TV. 

"Hey." Regina greeted, immediately a smile on her face and a heart that felt as light as a feather. 

"Hey yourself" Emma greeted her with a smile of her own. "I'm impressed that your head is still attached to your body." 

"Because of the ghosts?" Regina asked and sat down on the couch where Emma had made some space for her. 

"Because of the way Kathryn was cursing afterwards. I was worried I would never see you again." 

That revelation made Regina's heart skip a beat or two, even if she knew Emma probably just said that without really meaning it. 

"I've done worse. Kathryn and I are friends since as long as I can remember, nothing is ever going to change that." 

"Worse, huh?" There is a glint in Emma's eyes when she looked over to Regina. "What exactly did you do?" 

Regina opened her mouth and then closed it immediately. How could Emma steer the conversation so fast to something Regina had sworn to avoid forever? "I should really clean up Kathryn's room." She stood up quickly, making her way to Kathryn's room, only to be followed by Emma. Regina stopped and turned around. "What are you doing?" 

"Helping you clean up." Emma answered with a big grin on her face. "So, what exactly is worse than putting a hundred ghosts into your highly-ghost-frightened friend’s room?" 

Regina groaned and turned around, making her way to Kathryn's room. At the door she stopped again. "You know what, I produced this mess, I will clean it up again. Why don't you go back to your movie?" 

"Nah, I will help you." Emma said while she sidestepped Regina to enter the room. "This is way more fun than any movie." There was a box in the corner of Kathryn's room, which Emma pulled forward and used it to gather the ghosts inside. 

"You’re just hoping I will spill any embarrassing stories." The grin on Emma's face was answer enough for Regina. "For your information: I won't." She started to collect the ghosts and put them besides the ones Emma had already gathered. 

"Sure." Emma said, but it was clear that she didn't believe Regina. 

"You've heard way too many stories about me." 

Emma stood still for a moment, clearly thinking. "You're right." 

"Am I?" Regina asked confused, not knowing where this change of heart came. This was way too fast. 

"Yes, I won't bother you tonight about it." 

There it was, Regina thought. _Tonight_. So by tomorrow Emma would ask again. All Emma had to do was to put on that charming smile of hers. It was almost impossible to resist that smile. 

"Since Kathryn didn't kill you...do you want to stay for dinner?" Emma asked. 

"I guess I could." Regina answered, she was surprised how calm her voice sounded, when on the inside a rollercoaster of emotions rushed through her body. Joy, nervousness and excitement were only a few of the many passengers. 

"How does pizza sound?" 

Regina responded with a smile. "Sounds good." 

"Great." Emma said while picking up one of the last ghosts. "Do you know what matches perfectly with an evening of eating pizza?" She asked while turning the ghost in her fingers. 

Regina smiled, knowing what Emma would suggest: Watching TV. But for the sake of keeping the conversation going she asked nonetheless. "What?" 

Emma’s grinned widened. "Karaoke." 

Regina dropped the ghost figure she was currently holding. "No!" 

"Oh yes." 

Regina could swear Emma's voice sounded like honey, it was hard to resist, but her parents and Kathryn were the only ones who had heard her sing. It wasn't like she was a catastrophic singer, she did hit most of the notes, but singing in front of other people? It was embarrassing. Very embarrassing. She only felt comfortable singing while surrounded by the people closest to her. As much as she wanted Emma to be a part of them, they hadn't reached that point. Not yet. 

"You know, I should probably dispose these...things...yeah...I should do that...like right away...before Kathryn comes back." She lifted the box, only to be stopped by Emma's hand on her arm. 

"You must be really stage frightened." Emma chuckled. "How about we just watch movies? Will you stay then?" 

Regina's eyes wandered to the hand on her arm. There was a tingling sensation at that very spot. Emma stood so close, that Regina was able to smell the enticing scent which was just Emma. Not knowing how to breathe, even less how to speak, Regina only nodded. 

"Any particular wishes to what we could watch?" 

Emma's hand was still on its place on Regina's arm and it didn't seem Emma considered taking it off. Meanwhile the tingling sensation spread from her arm to the rest of her body, leaving a pleasant shiver in its run. Regina's heart beat fast and loud in her chest. Her voice still not regained, she only shook her head. 

"For some reason I really want to watch Ghostbusters." Emma said, grinning from ear to ear. "Any objections?" 

Regina shook her head again. 

"With that settled, let's see where we will order our pizza. We have various options." Emma told her while her hand - suddenly? finally? - left Regina's arm. "There is this one place which serves this really big, cheesy crust" She said while walking out of the room. "Or that other place with almost no crust, but the dough is thin and crispy." 

Regina followed her like on autopilot, box still in her hands. 

"Oh, and there is of course this one crazy place where you can put anything on your pizza. Like really **anything**. Gummy bears, pretzel sticks, various nuts, bread crumbs, basically you can put whatever you want on the pizza. Doesn't mean you should. Trust me on that. So what kind of pizza do you want to eat?" They had reached the living room and Emma turned around, Regina almost collided with her. 

"Uhm..." Seemed like words were still not Regina's best friends right now. 

"I think we have some flyers in the kitchen, I will go get them." 

Nodding again was the only thing Regina was capable of. As soon as Emma had vanished from the room, Regina took a deep breath. Why was speaking so hard in Emma's present? Once again Regina looked down where Emma's hand had been, she could still feel the soft pressure and a tingling sensation there. She took another deep breath. 

There had been two items on her To-Do list. 

First: Revenge on Kathryn 

Second: Tell Emma you're gay and that you like her 

The first item could be crossed now, which left only one other to fulfill. How she was going to do that when she wasn't even able to answer a simple question with yes or no was beyond Regina’s knowledge. 

"Here they are." Emma exclaimed while entering the living room again, wielding a few flyers. "What kind of pizza do you want?" She plopped down on the couch and Regina was suddenly aware that she still stood in the middle of the room like an idiot, with a box full of ghosts. 

"I...uhm..." Placing the box on the ground right next to a wall, Regina thought about what pizza she wanted to eat. "What do you want to eat?" 

"You want to share a pizza?" Emma asked surprised. 

What? No, she wanted to know what kind of pizza Emma would have. Thick and with cheesy crust or thin and crunchy. Sharing food? She was still not used to sharing food with Emma. They would have to sit very close so they could both reach the pieces. With Emma close by her side, Regina wasn't sure if she would be able to do stuff like chewing and breathing. Sharing was a bad idea. 

"Maybe." Regina's eyes grew wide. Had she really half agreed to sharing food with Emma just now? What was wrong with her? 

"You like pepperoni, chilies, bell pepper and onions?" 

Regina shrugged, while sitting on the other end of the couch. It wasn't the pizza she would usually eat but she liked all the ingredients, so why not? Sharing, right. She didn't want to share pizza with Emma. Well, she did want to, but she didn't. There was no way she could act normal while sharing food with Emma. Last time they had shared food, yesterday to be precise, she had seen Emma's abs and gosh had Emma looked delicious. This made her hungry for something else entirely. Focus Regina. Focus. 

As Regina looked up, she saw Emma looking at her expectantly. Oh crap. Emma had said something, she needed to answer. Damn it, what had been the question? 

"Huh?" _Very eloquent Regina_ , she thought and wanted to slap herself. 

Emma smiled and repeated her question. "Anything else you want on the pizza?" 

"No, sounds good to me." 

"Okay, then I will just..." Emma looked around clearly searching for something. "...I will just go to my room to get my phone so I can order." She stood up, but turned around at the door. "What did we say? Thick and crusty or thin and crunchy?" 

"Uhm...we hadn't decided yet. Order whatever you like." 

"Thick and crusty it is." Emma said with a wide grin before she vanished to get her phone. 

Regina took another deep breath. She could do this. Sharing food was nothing special, sitting close to one another was nothing special, telling that you’re gay was nothing special, revealing that you like the person you currently talked to was nothing special...okay maybe the last one was special, but she could do this. 

_I'm gay and I like you._

It was a short and simple sentence. She could do this. Yes, she could definitely do this. She only had to say the words and the rest was up to Emma. It was nothing to be nervous about, so why did her breath come out in short puffs? 

_I like women, what about you? Because I would really like to ask you out._

This sentence was a bit more advanced. Too many words. It had to be something simpler. 

_I like you, how about we hang out more often._

Not concrete enough. It could easily be misunderstood. She needed a different sentence. 

_Do you like pussies? I do._

She really needed to cut contact with Kathryn. That woman had a really bad influence on her. Like, **really** bad influence. 

The best and simplest way to tell Emma was still: _I'm gay and I like you._

Easy and simple. She could do this. She had almost done it once and this time no illness - or fake illness - was going to stop her. 

Regina looked up and smiled when Emma reentered the room. Yes, she would definitely tell her tonight. 

"Just ordered our pizza, it will take some time before it arrives. Should we start the movie?" Emma asked while sitting down on her previous occupied spot on the couch. 

"Sure." Regina replied. There was no point in telling Emma now, not when some stupid pizza delivery guy might interrupt the moment. 

Paying attention to the movie, or at least trying to pretend to pay attention, Regina's thoughts circled around the sentence she would tell Emma. There had still no better sentence occurred to her than _I'm gay and I like you_. 

At some point the delivery guy had stood in front of the door. Emma had paid him and brought back the pizza. One without onions. She apologized, saying she had forgotten to tell the guy on the phone that she wanted onions, but all Regina could think about was that it may not have been an accident. Maybe Emma had forgotten them on purpose, after all, onions were not the best vegetable to eat before kissing someone. Or maybe Regina was interpreting way too much in this situation. 

Emma sat out on the couch, placing the pizza between them, so there was no close sitting to Regina’s relief. They were quiet during dinner. Emma while she was watching the movie and Regina while she was thinking whether Emma had forgotten the onions on purpose. 

After Emma had placed the carton with the pizza away from them Regina watched her closely from beside. 

_I'm gay and I like you._

It was the perfect moment to tell Emma. Both were finished with eating, nobody would arrive and interrupt them and the movie...well, Regina hadn't really paid attention to it anyway. 

_I'm gay and I like you._

Easy and simple. Regina took a deep breath while turning towards Emma. 

"I'm gay." 


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know you were all waiting (im-)patiently for the next chapter, so I hurried ;-)

**The Roommate Chapter 11**

"I'm gay." Regina blurted out. 

Holding her breath, she looked intensely at Emma, whose eyes were still settled on the TV. This was the moment of truth. The moment she had feared and also yearned for. There was no way of taking it back now. All she could do now, was waiting for Emma's response, but Regina was sure she would die of an heart attack before she would get Emma's answer. Time seemed to stood still and the short moment of silence seemed to kill Regina. 

"Oh really." Emma said half joking, half mocking, eyes never leaving the television. "I know that since you mistook me with Kathryn and told me how awesome my arms and ass were. Duh." 

Jaw almost falling on the ground, Regina fall into some sort of shock. 

Emma knew. 

Emma had known all the time. 

The last weeks Regina had made a big fuss about whether she should tell Emma or not and all this time Emma had known. Did Emma also knew that she had been hitting on her?...or better, trying to hit on her. What else did Emma knew? 

Regina hadn't moved at all. She sat there, turned to Emma, staring with mouth agape. Emma seemed to notice that something was off and turned around to look at Regina. 

"What?" Emma asked, clearly confused. 

Finally noticing that her mouth still hang open, Regina closed it, but she wasn't able to process the situation. _Emma had known._

Suddenly Emma's face changed, like a light bulb had finally started to shine in the depths of her mind. Only to squinch her nose afterwards. "Oh shit. Was this your coming out? Shit, this was such a lame respond...I'm sorry...I mean...congratulations...that's..." 

"No." Regina interrupted her. "I'm not...this is not my coming out. My parents know, Kathryn knows...people know...not all, but some...I just..." 

Just what? 

"...just...wanted to tell you...in person...and now you know...so...yeah...ehm..." 

"Okay." Emma said slowly and stretched the word, her brows furrowed and looking slightly irritated. "You're gay. Cool." It was said in a tone which made clear that Emma didn't really knew how to respond to the news. 

Which irritated Regina to no end. There had been plenty reactions Regina had thought would happen: Maybe a homophobe Emma being disgusted of her, maybe an Emma that excused herself and didn't want to spend time with her anymore, maybe an awkward Emma not knowing how to deal with it, maybe even a homosexual Emma turning towards her and kissing her (okay that one had been a dreamy fantasy, but a girl can hope) but one were Emma reacted casually with _'duh, I knew that'_ wasn't one of them. Wasn't telling someone that you're gay a big step anymore? Sure, Regina hadn't thought she would get a party or anything, but a _'you are gay? that is so great, I'm gay too'_ would have been nice. 

Oh shit. Did that mean Emma wasn't gay? 

If Emma were gay she would have said something along the line _'welcome to the club'_ or _'oh great, I'm gay too'_ , right? Right? 

Oh no. This meant she had a one-sided crush on a straight girl, never a chance of changing Emma's mind. This was horrible. 

No. Keep calm. She could be bisexual. Everything was fine. Yes, maybe Emma didn't define herself with labels like straight and gay and stuff like that. Maybe she just...liked people...gender irrelevant. 

That would be too good to be true. 

There was only one way to find out: Asking Emma directly. 

Regina took a deep breath before she spoke, not quite ready for an answer she might not want to hear. "Do you..." 

She didn't get further. There was rustling at the front door as well as arguing people, although she couldn't hear what they were saying. Emma and Regina looked at each other questioning. 

"I thought Kathryn was staying with Frederick tonight?" Emma said and got up. 

"I thought so too." Regina replied, walking right behind Emma. 

As they got closer to the door, Regina recognized the voices through the closed door, even thought they sounded muffled. 

"I will just get my phone and then I'm out, you don't have to get inside if you don't want to." It was clearly Frederick's voice. 

"No!" Kathryn protested vehemently. "You can't go in there!" 

"Why not? Are you really that afraid of ghosts? Babe, you don't have to go in there with me, I will be in and out in 2 minutes." 

"Why can't you just leave it there and we will get it tomorrow?!" 

They reached the door now and Emma opened it, startling Kathryn and Frederick in the process. "Hey guys, why are you standing outside? Did you forget your keys?" 

"I'm..." Kathryn began and looked between Emma and Regina. 

"She is still shaken up because of the ghosts. She wouldn't let me in to get my phone. Thanks for opening the door." Frederick said while he entered the apartment. "Thanks for frightening my girlfriend." He hissed angry towards Regina as he walked by. 

Regina only rolled her eyes. It wasn't like Kathryn was THAT afraid of ghosts. She had clearly other reasons not to enter the apartment tonight, but Frederick didn't knew that and Regina was glad about that. She could see the look of regret and frustration in her best friends eyes as she looked over, so she gave her a small smile. "We were just watching Ghostbusters." Regina said to ease Kathryn's mind a little. 

A relieved smile appeared on Kathryn's face. 

"Want to watch with us?" Emma teased. 

Kathryn scoffed. "I think I will decline." 

"Suit yourself." Emma said grinning and winked at Kathryn. "Tadadadadada, tadadada, Ghostbusters!" She sang while she strolled back to the living room. 

Chuckling and shaking her head, Regina turned to Kathryn, who was still standing outside. 

"I tried to tell this idiot that we can't come back here, but of course this thick head of his wouldn't understand why." Kathryn whispered, apparently still frustrated about her boyfriends behavior. 

"Did you tell him your best friend and roomie might be banging in your bed." Regina whispered back and couldn't contain a giggle. 

"Course not!" Kathryn exclaimed, but immediately joined the giggling. "At least we didn't surprise you naked in my bed, I think Frederick would have fallen into a shock." 

They both giggled at that until Regina pulled Kathryn into the apartment, closing the door behind her, hiding them both in a corner, getting all serious. "I told her." She whispered even quieter to her best friend. 

"That you have a crush on her?" 

"No, that I'm gay." 

"And?" 

"She knew." Regina whispered, still irritated that all this time Emma had known. 

"Of course she knew, you told her basically that she is a sex bomb. So why are you guys not in my bed banging each other senseless?" 

"She didn't say anything." 

"Argh, this can't be true. How dense are you?! People don't say _'hey let us bang each other senseless'_. They just do it!" Kathryn responded frustrated. 

Regina rolled her eyes. "No, you idiot. She hasn't really responded to my news that I'm gay. If she were gay too she would have said so, don't you think?" 

"You think she is straight?" 

Regina bit her lip and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I was about to ask her when you guys arrived." 

"I'm going to kill this stupid son of a...he is such a farm skunk. I told him we couldn't come here, but no, mister I-will-protect-you had to play all heroic and ruined everything I’ve been working on for weeks." 

"YOU have worked for weeks?" Regina asked, not believing she had heard right. 

"Yes! Do you know how exhausting it was to push you towards Emma?" 

"So you're admitting you pushed me!" 

"I never said that." Kathryn defended herself. 

"Yes, you just did!" 

"No, I didn't." 

"You just said it was exhausting to **push** me towards Emma. I should have put a lot more ghosts into this apartment!" 

"If my stupid bucket boyfriend hadn't ruined the moment you two would be having hot lesbian sex by now." 

"Did you listen to me? I don't think she is gay." 

"But you don't know for sure." 

Regina hesitated and looked to the ground. "No." 

"Even if she is straight, you can sway her with your charm." 

Regina rolled annoyed her eyes. "Which charm? I act like an idiot around her." 

"That can be charming." Kathryn tried to cheer her up. 

Regina scoffed. "Yes sure." 

"Okay, here's the plan. As soon as Frederick and I are out, you walk to her and ask her if she is gay. Talking about that donkey, how long does he need to get a phone?" 

"Are you going to stop insulting your boyfriend anytime soon?" Regina asked. 

"No. I'm pissed. He ruined the moment." 

"It was **MY** moment, not yours." 

" **I** worked very hard for this moment to happen. And it is not going to happen anytime soon if this idiot of mine doesn't find his phone." 

Kathryn walked out of the corner, making a few steps towards the direction of her room, only to walk back and pull Regina with her. "I'm not going in there alone. Who knows what else you have hidden there." 

"I already cleaned it, there are no more ghosts anymore." 

"How could you do this to me? I will not be able to sleep in this room for the next few days." Kathryn whined as they reached the room. One look was enough to realize that Frederick wasn't there. "Where the hell is he?" 

They looked at each other and Regina shrugged. "With Emma in the living room?" 

They found the person in question as they entered the living room, sitting on the couch and eating popcorn with Emma. 

"See, I told you nothing is going to separate them." Frederick said towards Emma, while he took a handful of popcorn and turned his attention back to the screen in front of him. 

"What were you girls doing out there?" Emma asked, worry transporting through the question. 

"Talking." Regina answered shortly, not wanting to share what they had talked about. 

Emma scooted over at the couch, looking expecting at Regina, then at Kathryn. "Come on, the movie just started. Ghostbusters was over, we started another movie, one without ghosts." 

Kathryn opened her mouth to say something, but before she could Regina pulled at her arm. "Excuse us for a second." She told the two figures on the couch before she pulled Kathryn out the door and into the kitchen. 

"What the hell are you doing?" Kathryn whispered as they entered the kitchen. 

"You can't go." 

"WHAT?" Confusion was written all over Kathryn's face. "Oh no...you're getting cold feet...Regina..." 

"It's just...it's different now...the atmosphere...the moment is gone...I need to rethink all this." 

"Rethink? That is the stupidest thing you've ever said. You don't need to think! You need to tell her that you like her!" 

"I will. I promise you I will, but not today." 

Kathryn was actually tearing at her hair by now. "One day you will kill me with your insecurity. Why not now?" 

"I don't know...how am I going to steer the conversation back to the topic?" 

"Just like you did before." 

"I blurted it out." Regina admitted. 

"You're as sensitive as an elephant." Kathryn groaned and hid her face behind her hands. 

"I don't think elephants are insensitive." Regina objected, but the death glare Kathryn shoot her silenced her at once. 

"Tell me again, why don't you want us to leave? Even if we...Frederick ruined the moment, you two could still have some alone time." 

"I'm exhausted okay. It was really difficult to tell her that I'm gay and the fact that she knew...well it caught me off guard. I'm not sure how to handle this and I don't know how to survive an evening alone with her. I don't know how to speak around her. We have to practice." 

"Practice?" Kathryn replied. "If you're going to tell me you have to practice kissing with me too..." 

"No! Just speaking okay." 

"You can speak! Really Regina, you're going to kill me." 

"Please stay. We will think of a way how I'm going to tell her that I like her and a way I will not fall into pieces when she tells me that she is straight." Regina said sadly with a pained expression. 

"Even if she's straight, and it is a if, then she won't be straight for long, trust me. You're going to win her over with your charm." 

Regina scoffed at that. "Yeah, are we going to work on my charm too?" 

"We will." Kathryn reassured. "You are going to be a Prince Charming when you finished your training." 

"Training, huh? Sounds stressful." 

"It will be. You better pay me a lot of cocktails so **I** won't pass out of exhaustion. Being your friend is really tiring." Kathryn said with a smile. 

"Since when do cocktails help against exhaustion?" Regina replied with a smile of her own. 

"First lesson: Don't question the methods of your teacher." Kathryn said in a serious tone. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm the teacher." 

"I figured that much." 

Kathryn winked at Regina. "Clever girl. Now let's get back to the others." She turned to leave the kitchen, but Regina stopped her. 

"Thanks Kathryn." Regina said and hugged her best friend. "I'm really glad I have you." 

"The feeling is mutual." Kathryn replied and hugged Regina tighter for a moment. "Now come on." 

As they walked back to the living room. Emma looked worried at both of them. "I was about to send a rescue team. Everything alright?" 

"Sure." Kathryn answered for them. "What are we watching?" She asked while she snatched the bowl of popcorn away. Kathryn sat beside Emma, motioning to her other side for Regina to sit there. Regina could see a frown on Emma's face and a questioning look towards her, but Regina didn't knew what this might mean so she choose to ignore it. There were enough things on her mind right now: the missing onions, the _'duh, I knew that'_ , the fact that Emma didn't reply with _'I'm gay too'_. Regina already was confused, there was no place to add a frown and questioning look too all this mess in her head. 

"We are watching Groundhog Day, it’s another movie with Bill Murray." 

An acknowledge sound was the only response Kathryn gave. Regina was glad that her best friend was taking over the responding part. Too many questions hovered in her mind and just like the first movie, Regina didn't quite catch what's on the screen. They were mostly quiet during the movie. One comment here and there about a character or a scene, but nothing special. 

The fact that Emma looked over a few times during the movie didn't ease Regina's mind one bit. Just more questions popped up in her mind. Was Emma gay? Was she not? Would Emma break contact now? Would they spend more time together? Did Emma like her? Did Emma like her the way she _liked_ her? 

All these thoughts were tiring and when by the end of the movie Frederick suggested to leave, Regina jumped on the opportunity and agreed that it was late and she was tired. 

That's how she ended in the hallway, waiting for Frederick to come out of the bathroom and Kathryn to gather her stuff in the living room. Emma joined her in the hallway, her hands in her pockets. "Everything alright?" 

"Yes, sure, of course." Even in her own ears it sounded like a lie. Her mind was overflowing with what-if's and her heart was at a irregular pace because of all the possibilities she had thought of during the movie. 

It was clear by the way Emma looked at her that she didn't believe the lie for a second. Regina avoided to look at those eyes who seemed to see far more than Regina wanted them to see. 

Thankfully Kathryn joined them right that moment, taking over the conversation. "I'm ready to go. It was nice hanging out as group. Maybe we could do this again?" 

There was a grin forming on Emma's face. "Sure, I will set up the ghosts in your room." 

Regina actually grinned at the boldness of Emma's words, knowing that Kathryn didn't like to hear them. 

"Don't you dare!" Kathryn warned, but the grin didn't vanish on Emma's face. 

"Don't you dare what?" Frederick asked while he walked towards them, putting an arm around Kathryn's shoulder. 

"I may be looking for a new roommate soon." Kathryn answered him grimly, while she shot a glare towards Emma, whose grin had vanished at the sudden prospect of being kicked out. 

"Okay, time to go." Regina said, holding the door open for the pair. After they went through she turned towards Emma. "Don't worry, she wouldn't kick you out." 

"Thanks." A small grateful smile tucking at Emma’s lips. 

Regina smiled back at her before she also walked through the door and closed it behind her. She followed the pair down the stairs and onto the street. 

"Where is your car parked?" Kathryn asked once they stood outside. 

"Over there." Regina said and motioned to her left. 

"I will walk you there." Kathryn offered and freed herself from Fredericks embrace. 

"But our car is over there." Frederick said and motioned to the right. 

"I know. I will be there in a second." Kathryn said over her shoulder, while she had already hooked her arm around Regina's and had walked towards the direction of Regina's car. As they were out of hearing range Kathryn spoke again. 

"So, about your training? How does brunch tomorrow morning sound?" 

Regina turned her head surprised towards Kathryn. "You want to start tomorrow?" 

"Yes, you need a confidence boost as soon as possible." 

"How about Monday after work? I could use a little break to gather my thoughts." 

"That's what I'm afraid of." Kathryn sighed. "But fine. Monday after work. You're paying for the cocktails." 

"Why is it I always have to pay for your stuff?" Regina said with a grin. They had reached her car now and she unlocked it. 

"Right now it's because you shortened my lifespan about a few weeks with this _'surprise'_ of yours." 

Regina shook her head at the silliness of her friends argument. "See you Monday?" She asked while she hugged Kathryn goodbye. 

"Yes, have a good night." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~I was wondering if anyone would want to be my beta reader and correct my grammar mistakes, I seem to make a few of those. I really don’t want to ruin this story with terrible grammar mistakes, but since I can’t see them by myself I could use a little help^^ (*evily whispers* you would be able to read the chapters sooner ;-))~~  
>  Scratch that.  
> I thought I wouldn't get one to help me^^ now I have too many XD #HasAwesomeReader


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had asked for a beta reader and I had really thought I wouldn’t find even one, but as it turns out, several people wanted to beta read :-) Since I couldn’t decide, I came up with the solution to give each person a chapter. This chapter had been corrected by DisturbingVision, thanks again for helping me^^

**The Roommate Chapter 12**

_I'm gay and I like you._

Regina groaned frustrated into the book she held over her face. It was one simple sentence and she had still managed to fail. Only half of it had made it out before she once again, panicked. She had had this 20 seconds of bravery and now she was back at being insecure. 

What if Emma wasn't gay? What if Emma didn't like her the why she liked Emma? What if Emma already had someone in her life? What if...? 

Again there were those thousand questions of what if's that plagued her since yesterday. It was sunny outside, a nice day to spend the Sunday afternoon walking in the park, but she had already done that this morning and it hadn't helped to keep her from mulling about everything she should or shouldn't have done yesterday. Instead of being outside now she sat in her rocking chair, the place where she felt the safest, reading a book to distract her mind from thinking about Emma. But even in this split second where she had looked up from her book to see a few lonely clouds pass by, her mind had wandered back to the previous evening. 

Why had Kathryn and Frederick come by **THAT** second? Couldn't they have shown up two minutes later? Two minutes!! Where was she supposed to find new courage now? It certainly wasn't hidden under her bed! 

But Kathryn had promised to help her. Tomorrow her _training_ would begin. Whatever that meant. Regina wasn't sure if she even wanted to know what that meant. Maybe memorize sentences or talking to strangers. 

Hopefully **not** talking to strangers. 

Her problem was talking with Emma, not strangers. She had no problem talking to unknown people. Emma was the problem. 

Or rather her own ability to think straight when Emma was around. 

Regina had no idea how that evening with Kathryn tomorrow would look like. Probably drinking lots of cocktails, complaints about why she was such a chicken, probably cursing about Frederick a little bit, and has she mentioned the drinking cocktails part? 

**BEEP BEEP**

Rolling her eyes, Regina reached for her phone. It wasn't uncommon that Kathryn thought about the exact same things at exact the same time. Years of hanging out together had made them think alike. 

Regina was surprised to see that the message wasn't from Kathryn, it was from Emma. 

**Where are you right now?**

Regina frowned. Was Emma nearby and wanted to come over? 

Looking down at herself, Regina decided that she wasn't presentable. Apart from that she emotional didn't feel like facing Emma so soon again. 

Not sure what to write back, Regina stared at the words. Worry started to form in the pit of her stomach. What if something had happened? What if she needed someone to talk? What if she was hurt? 

A whole bunch of other what-if questions formed in her mind, leaving an uneasy feeling behind. 

_Home, why? Is everything alright?_

Biting nervously on her lower lip, Regina waited for a reply. All the other times she had texted with Emma, the replies had come within a few seconds. 

Not this time. 

Time passed by and there was still no response. When minutes had passed, Regina thought about either sending another message or calling Emma. 

**DINGDONG**

Regina's head snapped upwards, then back to her phone. 

No, no, no, no, no, no, no. 

Emma would not stand downstairs at the apartment building door. No way! 

Regina sprinted to the intercom, slightly out of breath when she arrived there although it only were a few steps. Her hand was a bit shaky when she pressed the button to speak. 

"Who is there?" 

"Hey, it's me, Emma." 

Damn. Why had she answered the door? Now she couldn't pretend she wasn't home. Which she couldn't have pretended in the first place because she had already answered Emma via text. 

She was not prepared for this. 

"Come in." Regina said, hoping her voice didn't tremble as much as she herself did. She pushed the button to unlock the door downstairs. 

Looking around, Regina was glad that she always kept the apartment clean, but then her look settled on herself. After her walk this morning, she had changed her clothes, settling on sweat pants and an old sweater that didn't quite fit. 

"Shit." 

Regina hastily ran into her room, sweater already pulled over her head when she had reached her closet. She only had a few moments before Emma would be standing in front of her apartment door. With quick movements Regina got rid of the pants, a skirt already in her hands. _No, not this skirt,_ Regina thought. The blouse which fit to that piece of clothing was in the washing machine. She was about to pick another skirt, wondering which blouse would fit, when her eyes fell on a dark blue jeans. Every blouse would fit with those jeans. Hastily she grabbed the jeans, tumbling and almost falling over while putting it on before she reached for a light blue blouse. 

Emma would be knocking at any moment. Buttoning the blouse with clumsy hands and leaving the room in a hurry while doing so, Regina inspected her hair in the mirror by the front door. She was glad that she had left the apartment earlier that day, otherwise she wouldn't have put make-up on. 

**KNOCK, KNOCK**

Regina's heart stood still for a moment. Shit. There were still two more buttons left and her hair went into all directions. 

She quickly finished buttoning her blouse, cursing her sweaty fingers, before she turned her attention to her hair. With a few quick strokes it looked halfway presentable. 

Taking a breath to calm her rigid heartbeat she turned to open the door. Emma stood there, a box in her hands, and looking a bit nervous. 

"Hey, I was in the area, I thought I could stop by, see how you're doing and bring some cake over." 

"Ehm...hi...come in..." _Cake?_ Regina thought. Emma brought cake? Did that mean she wanted to stay for a while? They hadn't made any plans for today, so what was this about? 

Emma flashed her a smile before she entered the apartment. "Thanks, I hope I didn’t disturb you." 

"No, not at all." Regina quickly reassured. "I was just reading." Emma didn't need to know that she was indeed highly disturbed, but not in the way Emma might think. 

"You...ehm..." Emma paused and motioned with her free hand to her own chest. 

"Mmh?" Looking at Emma's chest, Regina's breath hitched at the open invitation to stare at her boobs, but she didn't quite get why Emma motioned towards it. The black shirt Emma wore didn't let her see anything else beside the curves, but Regina wasn't about to decline such a direct offer to stare at something she desired. 

"You buttoned a few buttons wrong." Emma said, suppressing a smile and looking at the ground. 

Regina's mouth fell open when she saw that she had indeed buttoned her blouse wrong. Both hands fell to the buttons and she turned her back to Emma, turning a deep tomato red. "...I...um....I..." Regina stuttered, not knowing what to say right now. She was embarrassed and she wished nothing more than for a giant hole to swallow her right now. 

"I will take this into the kitchen." Emma said and walked away, leaving Regina time to get her bearings back. 

_Fuck._ Was she cursed or something? Why did she always make a fool out of herself when Emma was nearby? 

Frustrated and with tears in her eyes, Regina buttoned he blouse correctly this time. A piece of dignity already lost and not retrievable. All she wanted to do right now was hide. Hide and never come out again. 

But Emma was in her kitchen. Probably unpacking the cake she had brought with her and Regina had no idea why Emma had decided to pay her a surprise visit. Pushing back the frustrated tears and straightening her spine, Regina tried to look not as depressed as she currently felt. 

Half of her didn't want to know why Emma was here, just wanted her out of the apartment again so she could hide in her room. The other half of her was happy. Happy to see Emma again even though she had just seen her yesterday. 

As Regina finally felt like she could show herself again, she walked into the kitchen to Emma. There were already plates on the table and two mugs of coffee joined them right when Regina entered the room. 

"I made coffee." Emma stated the obvious. 

Regina politely smiled, not quite reaching her eyes. There was suddenly an uneasiness in her body. Emma was nice, maybe even too nice. There had to be a catch somewhere. 

"Thanks." Regina sat down stiffly. Whatever might come next, it sure was something bad, why else would Emma be so overly nice? 

Emma sat down opposite of her, looking nervous. It was silent, both of them caught up in their own thoughts and an awkwardness surrounding them until Emma spoke up. 

"I'm sorry about yesterday." 

"Huh?" 

"Your, whole coming out thing. I kinda ruined it, I guess. My response wasn't as positive as it should have been. Sorry. Sometimes I'm not quite eloquent and I have this foot-in-the-mouth-syndrome. I know this apology kinda sucks, it is not going to change my lame response from yesterday...I'm just...I'm sorry." 

Regina's heart began to flutter at the realization that Emma was here to apologize and not to break up contact. "You...I do suffer that same syndrome." She said awkwardly as response, not quite sure how else to respond when her heart beat out of her chest. 

A laugh erupted from Emma, all nervousness gone. "Yeah, but it is cute when it is you who has this syndrome." 

_Cute_ . That was the only word in Regina's vocabulary for a few moments. _Cute_. She blushed and her heart beat with a dangerous fast rhythm. _Cute_. Emma had said cute. _Cute_. 

"So…ehm..." Emma was nervous again and shifted uncomfortable. "Are we good again?" 

Regina arched an eyebrow, suddenly feeling all confident at the sight of a suddenly nervous Emma again. "Was there a time where we weren't good?" 

A shy grin formed on Emma's lips. "I suppose not." 

Looking at the pastry and cake mix in front of her then at Emma, Regina arched an eyebrow, "Are you always buying half the bakery when you're apologizing?" 

"Only if I want to get sure that my apology will be accepted." Regina's heart grow bigger and warmer at Emma's confession. "You are not going to eat that bear claw are you?" 

Regina wasn't able to stop the laugh that escaped her. "I wouldn't dare eat it. You’ve had your eyes set on it since I entered the kitchen." 

"That is not true!" But Emma blushed and mumbled. "I did let it out of my eyes for a second, maybe even two." 

"You can have it, I will take something else. You’ve brought enough for a whole football team." 

"I do understand the concept of sharing." Emma said, bear claw already in her hand. 

With a chuckle and a shake of her head, Regina declined the offer. "Good to know, but I'm good, really. I will take the carrot cake instead." 

Emma bit into her pastry with gusto, seemingly enjoying the food and Regina had to suppress a chuckle again. There was something about Emma when she ate good food that made her look at peace. 

"By the way," Emma said while still chewing delightful on her bear claw. "I hid the ghosts in my room." 

"Oh." Right, the ghosts, Regina had completely forgotten about them." Sorry, I forgot them. I will come over and discard them, or donate them or whatever someone does with almost 30 ghosts." 

"No hurry. I think they settled in my room. You know, they started playing billiard and dart there, guess my room is their new club where they all meet to hang out and lose money while playing poker." 

Regina lips curved upwards. "Now I'm very curious how a ghost club looks like." 

"You're welcome to visit my room anytime you want." 

Almost getting a heart attack, images of a bedroom with Emma laying on the bed and patting the empty space beside her, flooded Regina's mind. Her cheeks got warm, her throat dry and she had to shake her head to get rid of the image...or at least store it away for later. 

Gladly Emma didn't notice any of it, she was too occupied eating. 

Taking her coffee mug in her hand and taking a sip, Regina wanted to wet her dry throat, but the still hot liquid burnt her tongue and throat, she choked and started coughing. 

"You alright?" Emma asked worried. 

"Hot." Regina croaked out, her tongue numb and an after burn in her throat. 

"Not sure you knew, but coffee is usually hot." Emma teased with a smile tugging at her lips. 

Heat rushed to Regina's cheeks and it was not the hotness from the coffee that was responsible for this. "Yeah...right." 

"You should try the coffee at my workplace, always lukewarm, so it is totally safe. No burns guaranteed. But you have to endure the old and bitter taste, which by the way does not go away, regardless how much milk or sugar you put into the mug." It seemed that the thought of it alone was enough to make Emma grimace in distaste. 

"It can't be that bad." 

"It totally is that bad." Emma countered while she got herself another piece of pastry, the bear claw long gone. "Want to share?" 

"No, one piece of cake is enough for me. Thanks." 

After a moment of silence, Regina steered the conversation back to Emma's work. "I still don't believe the coffee is so bad. If the coffee is as bad as you say, you wouldn't have customers to serve, ergo the dinner would have to close. Since you are still employed as a waitress it can't be that bad." 

"It is only a matter of time before I will have to look for another job. Most of the time I'm just sitting around, being bored or playing some games on my phone." 

"I could visit you sometime." The sentence is out before Regina realized what she had said. Since Emma was happily smiling and saying. "That would be great." There was no way Regina could back paddle, so she forced herself to smile. 

Visiting Emma at work? It already felt like being a teenager and running after a crush, following them everywhere they went. What had she gotten herself into? She really needed Kathryn's help tomorrow. 

"But you know, you probably have to come soon, it will probably be closed in a few weeks." 

"I can do that." Regina said with more confidence than she felt. 

"So how is your work going?" Emma asked. 

"Nothing special, coffee is decent, coworkers are mostly annoying, everything is like it usually is." 

"Don't you get...bored? All you do is calculating numbers and stuff like that." 

Regina laughed. "Well, being a finance expert is certainly not as fun as spending my days grooming horses and riding, but it is okay." 

"Grooming horses? Riding?" Emma asked confused. 

"Right, you don’t know. My parents live in a small town outside the city and my father has a little stable he takes care of. I used to spend all my free time there, taking care of the horses and riding through the area when I was younger and still lived at home." Maybe her voice sounded a bit dreamy, while thinking back at the time, but Regina was back quickly by Emma's chuckle. "What?" 

"I'm sorry...it's just...I don't know, you have so many books, I thought you would have been a total bookworm. Always home, reading books, missing events because of a thrilling book you couldn't put away." 

"I like to read, I'm not anti-social. Wait, do you think I'm anti-social?" 

"You wouldn't hang out with me if you were anti-social." Emma deadpanned. She sighed, deep and heavy, something in her demeanor changing. "It must have been nice to have such a carefree youth." 

There was a sadness in Emma's voice, one that made clear, that she didn't have a nice time growing up and it hurt Regina to hear it. 

"You didn't have a nice childhood?" Regina heard herself asking, even though she already knew Emma would just block the subject like every other time she had asked about Emma’s past. Still she wanted to try. Wanted to know the reason for Emma's sadness. 

"Not exactly." Emma answered, her head was down and she stared at her empty plate. "There were a lot of things I missed back then." 

"Like what?" Regina didn't want to push too much, but she didn't want to waste the chance to find out something about Emma's past. 

"Everything." 


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hurried, since I know how frustrating a cliffhanger in the middle of a conversation is.  
> Thanks to TheHeart343 for correcting this chapter ;-)

**The Roommate Chapter 13**

"Everything." 

Regina's heart broke. 

She wasn't sure what exactly made it break. The small voice, those glassy eyes, or just the single word Emma had spoken. One word that told so much more than a hundred sentences could. No wonder Emma never wanted to talk about her past, Regina could see how much pain was hidden beneath those usually shiny eyes. 

"We should put those away. They will get dry. Nobody wants dry cake." Emma said with a croak voice and a fake smile, avoiding to deepen the conversation. She stood up way too fast and turned her back to Regina to put the cake in the fridge. 

To Regina it looked like she wanted to run away. Like she had said too much and wanted to hide now. 

But Regina didn't want Emma to run away, so she did the only thing that came to her mind... 

"No cake will be as dry as the one I had made while learning to bake. I swear it was like eating sand, even Kathryn's dog refused to eat it and he ate everything." 

...embarrassing herself, so that Emma would laugh and this gloomy aura that was around her disappeared. Maybe Regina wasn't able to change the sad history Emma had, but she sure as hell would try to make those eyes shine again. 

"That dog even ate a cake I had burned, which he wasn't allowed to by the way, but he did it anyway, which caused Kathryn to worry about his health for about five minutes, because then a few neighbors came running over with buckets full of water to save our house. Which by the way was NOT burning, regardless how many people tell the funny story about the Mills' daughter who burnt the house while baking cake." 

Regina had told the story quickly, almost stumbling over her own words, in fear Emma would run away any moment. But she didn't had to worry, Emma had turned around, looking at her, a small smile on her lips, not the fake one she had worn a moment before. It didn't quite reach her eyes, but Regina was determined to make them shine again and well...they had shone whenever Regina had told an embarrassing story about herself. 

"I was so embarrassed. Everyone in town had heard the story about me burning the house, which I repeat is not true. I burnt the cake, not the house. Anyway, I was so embarrassed I went camping with Kathryn to avoid the town for a while. Kathryn had found this beautiful spot right next to a lake, we only had to stretch our arms out of the tent and we could touch the water. What I had totally forgotten at that time was that Kathryn had this huge spider-phobia. In the middle of the night she started screaming that she felt something crawling up her leg. Like any good friend I wanted to free her from whatever had befallen her, but Kathryn was kicking and suddenly standing up and I don't know, I think she tried to run out the tent, but we had closed it so in her panic she managed to flip the whole tent. Don't ask me how she did it. Next thing I know is that we are both in the lake, tangled in the tent, in the middle of the night and Kathryn still screamed that something crawled up her leg." 

Emma had started laughing out loud and Regina was relieved and proud that she was able to get Emma away from that gloomy and distant aura she had had before. Maybe talking with Emma about her past would have been a better idea. Letting her tell why she had missed so much as a kid and comfort her, but Regina had the feeling that Emma would rather run away than open up. 

"We had to call our parents to pick us up, we were soaked. Like everything else we had brought with us, just because Kathryn did have a bad dream, which she refuses to this day. She is still convinced that something crawled up her leg." 

When Emma met her gaze, Regina could see her eyes shine again, the smile finally reaching them and making them even more beautiful. 

"And here I thought her only flaw was having a ghost-phobia." 

Regina snorted. "You have only seen the top of the iceberg. Believe me when I say that she gets frightened a lot." 

"Halloween must be her favorite holiday." Emma chuckled. 

"Oh yeah." Regina laughed out. "Try not to wear any costumes similar to a ghost, a spider, a zombie, a clown, a princess..." 

"A princess?" Emma asked curious, arching an eyebrow. 

"Long story." 

"I do have time." Emma said with a mischievous grin, her demeanor back to her usual self. Like nothing had happened before. 

Regina was tempted to tell the story. She would do anything to keep Emma entertained and happy. But this particular story was one that Kathryn didn't like to be told. "But I may have not any time left on this planet if Kathryn finds out that I'm telling you all these stories." 

"She doesn't have to find out. I'm certainly not telling her." 

The wink Regina got from Emma did let her heart skip a beat. The resolve to tell the story dwindled even more, so in order to save her skin she just avoided the subject. "I would like to live at least long enough to see how this terrible show of yours does end. Are they ever leaving that godforbidden island? They are just running in circles, don't they have any sense of direction? I'm so sick of seeing the same tree over and over again. Please tell me that they will leave the island soon." 

A chuckle escaped Emma. "Soon, yeah, like only five-more-episodes-soon." 

"Can't we just skip them?" Regina groaned and started to walk into the direction of the living room. "Just give me a summary what happened and we can move on to more interesting episodes." 

Emma followed her hesitantly. "Does that mean you want to watch the show **now**?" 

Regina stopped in her tracks, she had assumed Emma would stay for a while, but now she was unsure. "We don't have to…we can do something else or...I don't know...I don't want to keep you from doing whatever you have to do." 

"And missing the opportunity to torture you with 5 more episodes of clueless idiots walking in circles on an island that is as big as a peanut. No chance." Emma teased and walked past Regina into the living room. 

"Is there no way I can bribe you into skipping them." Regina groaned and sat beside Emma, whose grin had started to widen. 

"What kind of bribe do you suggest?" 

And if Regina didn't know any better, she could swear Emma's voice had become lower. It was probably just her imagination. That and her own wishful thinking of how a bribe would look like. Regina's cheeks got warm at the thought of 'bribing' Emma and any chance to answer the question appropriate was gone in an instant. 

"Let's just watch the show." Regina said, staring straight ahead at the screen. She bite her lip to suppressing the urge to say something inappropriate. 

"I have to admit I never thought you were going to like the show." Emma said after a moment of silence. 

"I like your sarcastic comments." Regina replied without thinking and instantly blushed as she realized what she had said. "I mean...it's not so bad...the show is not so bad." 

"Sure, the show is fantastic." Emma chuckled. 

Regina's cheeks tainted a shade redder and she was glad the show had started so she didn't have to reply. 

Watching TV with Emma was relaxing like always, Emma commented on the characters behavior, making Regina laugh or chuckle every time. Just this time Emma said way more comments than usual, causing Regina to laugh more often and it may had something to do with admitting that she liked Emma's comments. Time flew by in the wink of an eye and at some point Emma's stomach piped up during an episode with a growl. 

"Hungry?" Regina asked with a grin and looked at Emma. 

There was a slight blush forming on Emma's cheeks and Regina found it adorable. Maybe she should try and make Emma blush more often. 

"Nope, not hungry." Emma said while holding an arm against her stomach. 

It wasn't even ten minutes later that another growl could be heard. Regina chuckled and looked over to Emma again, whose cheeks were again tainted in a slight red. 

"Okay, maybe a little bit hungry." 

"I could make us some pasta." Regina suggested, not wanting Emma to leave. 

Emma's eyes lighted up in an instant. "Really?" 

"Is tomato sauce with carrots and celery okay?" 

"Sounds perfect." 

"Should we pause and cook right away or..." 

"I'm not THAT hungry." Emma said with blushing cheeks, causing Regina to grin. 

After the episode was over they walked to the kitchen and Regina gathered the vegetables she wanted to use for the meal. Emma was already preparing a pot with water for the pasta and afterwards switched to chopping the celery since Regina was doing the same with the carrots. They worked in comfortable silence, both occupied with their tasks and when both were finished, Regina prepared the sauce while Emma sat down on a kitchen chair. Regina was in the middle of spicing the sauce when Emma spoke up. 

"You know, I do like your kitchen." 

"Because there is food in here?" Regina said over her shoulder, half joking, half being serious. She had already noticed that Emma enjoyed eating, so it was no surprise that she liked the kitchen. 

"THAT and because it always smells like home-cooked meals in your kitchen." Emma's expression got serious and there was a bit of this gloomy aura coming back. "I didn't have much home-cooked meals as a kid." 

Regina turned around to fully look at Emma. This time Emma didn't look like she wanted to run away, so Regina decided to find out more about Emma's past by asking. 

"Why?" 

Emma shrugged, looking at her hands. "Nobody around to cook I guess." She shrugged again. "I'm an orphan." She then looked up at Regina waiting for any reply from her. 

Regina had known that there was something tragic and painful in Emma’s past, but hearing that she was an orphan broke her heart all over again. The thought of little Emma being alone, without parents to comfort her, hurt Regina deeply. 

But how did someone react if someone told you they are an orphan? 

I'm sorry. What happened? Didn't you find a foster family? How do you feel without parents? Did they die? Are they missing? Did you try searching for them? Do you have any other relatives? Is the foster system as bad as everybody tells? 

None of it seemed to be the right response. 

Emma stared at her, obviously waiting for some kind of response. Something meaningful, something special. So in some kind of panic reaction, Regina responded totally differently than she normally would. It was stumbled, insecure and without proper thinking beforehand. "Ehm...Duh...I...eh...I knew that." 

The moment it was out, Regina wished she hadn't said it. Emma looked shocked and her eyes practically popped out of her head. "What?" 

Did Emma look offended? Hurt? Sad? 

Oh gosh, why hadn't she thought before speaking up? Now she would lose Emma because of her careless way of responding. It has obviously been a big deal for Emma to tell that she was an orphan and _duh_ was not an appropriate reply. Not in this universe, not in any universe. Regina could actually cry. Why had she messed this up? 

"I'm sorry...that was...I thought...I actually didn't thought...I was...I'm so..." 

And then Emma suddenly laughed. 

"Did you just 'duh' me? While I told you I'm an orphan? That's a first. Woah, are you crying?" 

There were tears behind Regina's eyes, making her sight slightly blurred. She had no idea where they came from. Either from the fear of losing Emma or the relief that Emma could actually laugh about this stupid reply. 

"I just..." Regina began, but was interrupted by Emma. 

"It's not THAT bad to be an orphan." Emma said while standing up and taking Regina into her arms, stroking her back with her hands to sooth her. "No need to cry about that." 

Regina didn't know what she should feel. She was irritated and happy and still close to crying and relieved and felt Emma so close and was shocked that Emma had decided to hug her and...and... 

Emma was hugging her. 

Emma’s body was warm and soft and fit so perfectly against Regina’s. They were so close, that she was able to smell the shampoo Emma used. It was a sweet scent, something that calmed Regina and she relaxed even more against Emma. 

"I thought you would run off because of my stupid reply." Regina mumbled into the crock of Emma's neck, where she had hidden herself. 

There was a soft chuckle from Emma and Regina could feel it with her whole body. "Well that was definitely a unique response, but you won't get rid of me because of it." Emma's voice was soft and her breath tickled Regina's ear. 

Regina held on onto Emma a little tighter. "Good to know, because I really lik..." 

The sound of water boiling over startled them both and they sprang apart. Regina quickly moved the pot from the hotplate, while Emma snickered beside her. "Are you trying to burn the house? Should I call the neighbors?" 

Which earned Emma a death glare. Okay, maybe not really a death glare. Regina felt way too happy from the hug to shoot daggers with her eyes, even though her admission that she liked Emma had been interrupted by the boiling water. 

Emma held up her hands in surrender, still a big smile on her lips. "I will be quiet and will prepare the table." 

"You better do." Regina said with a smile rivaling Emma’s. 


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a bit of a writer’s blockade the last few weeks, so it took me a while to finish this chapter. Thanks to ShipHappens for waiting patiently and beta-reading this chapter :-)

**The Roommate Chapter 14**

"Can I ask you something?" Regina asked while moving pasta around her plate. 

They had sat down at the kitchen table to eat dinner. To Regina's relief the pasta as well as the sauce turned out really good, even after this short incident with the overboiling water. 

"I was abandoned at a hospital when I was only a few weeks old. Nobody saw who gave me up. I have no idea who my parents are or why they gave me up. I spent most of my youth in the foster care system because no family ever really wanted me. That should answer pretty much every question." 

Regina's eyes grew wide and she needed a moment to process all of the information. Her heart began to ache as she realized what Emma had just said. The thought of little Emma not finding a family to call her own broke her heart all over again. She did feel helpless, not knowing how to reply to such an admission. What could she possibly say that would sound caring and could relay what she was feeling right now? Emma looked straight at her plate, but Regina could still see the pain even though Emma tried to hide it. There was again a sadness surrounding Emma, one that Regina couldn't bear to see. "I was actually going to ask if I also have to buy half the bakery because of my _duh_ reply from before." 

Emma looked up in disbelief. "What?" 

Regina could smack herself. This was a serious conversation and of all the possible replies this had definitely been the wrong one. "I'm sorry...that was stupid...again...I'm..." 

"Bear claws are enough. It doesn't have to be the whole bakery." A small smile was on Emma's lips. "Thanks. For not making such a big deal out of this orphan thing. Everyone else is just like...I don't know...they pity me and ask all these questions I don't want to answer." 

"Why don't you want to answer them?" The question was out before Regina could think better about it. "Sorry, that was a question too. You don't have to answer...Let's just talk about my incompetence with cooking." 

"You are not incompetent." Emma said while a smile was grazing her lips. "Trust me, your meals are awesome. I could come over every day and eat them to prove to you that you're a good cook." 

"You just don't want to cook yourself." 

"True." Emma replied with a grin. "But that doesn't mean that you're not a good cook." 

Regina's response was a smile of her own. "Thanks." 

After a moment of silence, it was Emma who steered the conversation back to the previous topic. "I don't like people to ask about my past because...I don't know...I guess there is this wound that never really healed, regardless of how many years have passed and every time I tell someone that I don't have parents they keep asking questions and then this wound of mine rips open again." Emma than shrugged, again looking pained and vulnerable. "Avoiding the topic and ignoring it altogether is somehow easier than to be reminded of it." 

A pang of guilt settled in Regina's stomach. "I'm sorry for asking. I don't want this wound to ripopen and hurt you." 

"You realize I was the one starting the topic willingly?" Emma said with a small smile. 

"I do...but...I don't want you to feel obligated to tell me something about your past. Especially when it hurts you. You don't have to say anything if you don't want to." 

"I know." Emma responded quietly. "But I actually want to." 

The look Emma gave her was one Regina wouldn't forget. There was this trust in Emma's eyes behind the pain and as Regina recognized it, she felt the air leaving her lungs. She opened her mouth to say something, but no words would make their way past this lump in her throat. She was overwhelmed by Emma's truthful response. The fact that Emma would open up to her, that she **wanted** to open up to her, made her speechless and her heart skipped a few beats. 

"I mean, I know talking about it won't change anything. My parents gave me up and regardless of how many times I will tell this to other people, it won't change the past, it won't get me an answer to why they gave me up and it won't change the fact that I will never have parents." 

"You're right." Regina agreed, finally snapping out of her rigid demeanor. "It won't change anything, but sometimes it just helps to know that there is someone in your life who cares about you and is just there for you and will listen to you. So...ehm...whenever you want to talk to someone...you can just...call." Regina's heart beat like crazy, it sounded too much like a love admission in her ears. 

"Thank you." 

Regina's heart almost burst at the sight in front of her. There were tears behind those green-blue eyes, but at the same time there was a beautiful unguarded smile on Emma's lips and all Regina wanted to do was to stand up and engulf Emma in a hug, kiss her and tell her that she was beautiful and loved and the most amazing woman she had ever met. 

But of course she wasn't brave enough to do so. 

Instead the moment vanished. The atmosphere broken by Emma's voice. "So...you ready to be tortured again with a few dumb idiots walking past the same tree for the twentieth time?" 

Regina groaned. "Do we have to? Can't we just skip these episodes?" 

Emma feigned surprise and shock. "But then you will miss the best part!" 

"Don't tell me they will walk past a NEW tree." Regina countered dryly. 

The chuckle Emma escaped causing Regina to smile. She had no idea how she was able to get Emma back to smiling and making jokes, but she liked it. She liked the mesmerizing sound of Emma's laugh, the twinkle visible in her eyes and look of happiness on her face. 

"They replaced the tree with a rock!" 

Regina groaned again, which caused Emma to chuckle even more. The sound was beautiful and Regina couldn't keep herself from grinning, despite her little act of being annoyed by the show. 

"Come on, you don't want to miss the great appearance of this rock. He has a really big role, he gets like half of the screen time!" 

Regina grimaced at the thought of Emma telling the truth about this rock. The show was so terrible, Regina didn’t doubt that it could get worse. There was no way she could handle to watch the show any longer if they didn't switch locations soon. Emma meanwhile kept chuckling and put away their dirty dishes. 

"Ready?" Emma asked after the dishes were put away and she had shut the dishwasher. 

"About this rock..." Regina began, but was interrupted by Emma's laugh. 

"I will take that as a yes." Emma walked into the living room, leaving Regina no other choice than to follow her. 

"Didn't you say they will leave that godforbidden island soon?" Regina asked as she had caught up with Emma in the living room. 

Emma only grinned and patted the space beside her on the couch. 

"Why am I even doing this?" Regina muttered more to herself than to Emma. 

"Because you like my sarcastic comments." Emma replied with a smug grin. 

Regina's cheeks turned red. There was no point in arguing about that fact, she had even admitted this herself earlier today. "Just press play." 

The grin didn't vanish from Emma's face, it even widened two minutes later when she made her first joke about the rock that could be seen. Regina tried to glare at her, but found it hard to resist the shining smile from Emma. The corner of her lips lifted and she failed to keep the glare in place. 

It was past midnight, when the TV screen became black. They had joked and laughed during the episodes and during the scene where the protagonists had left the island, Regina couldn't hold back a loud cheer. Emma had laughed beside her, but had joined the cheers after a minute. There had also been a few times Regina had caught Emma glancing at her. Which, if Regina was truthful, she only saw because she was also glancing towards Emma. Both had smiled at each other whenever their eyes had met and Regina had silently wished they could have movie nights every evening. 

"I told you it would get better." Emma said and stretched her limbs. 

Regina agreed with a humming sound, but her attention was elsewhere. She wasn't able to tear her eyes away from Emma's body. Especially when Emma's shirt rid upwards and skin became visible. Biting her bottom lip, Regina stared at the soft skin of Emma's stomach, wanting nothing more in this moment than to just kiss the visible spot. 

Only when Emma stood up and walked a few steps away from the couch, Regina was able to file away the images in her mind and came back to the present. " _Better_ does not make it good. It was horrible before and now it is...less horrible, it is still a crappy show. Maybe next time we can watch something that is actually interesting." 

"Next time?" Emma said with a grin. "And here I was thinking about reading a book." 

"What?" Regina asked confused while she walked besides Emma who had stopped in front of a bookshelf. 

"After _torturing_ you with watching TV, I thought it would be only fair if you got a chance to torture me too." Emma said grinning and turned her head to look at the various books. "So what can you recommend?" 

_Torturing Emma._ Oh, what a delicious thought. There were a few scenarios Regina could think of how to _torture_ Emma, none of it included a book. "Ehm...I don't...I don't know." It was hard to concentrate on books right now, while still images of torturing Emma were in her mind. "What do you like to read?" 

"I don't know." Emma answered and inspected the bookshelf, getting really close to the part where the M-Rated books stood. It wasn't like Regina was a nun and forbidden to read M-Rated stuff, but the thought of Emma finding these books was embarrassing. 

"DEATH." Regina blurted and Emma turned confused around. "I mean...crime...thriller...you know...because...ehm...your life is boring..." 

Emma arched an eyebrow. 

"...your work...your work is boring...not your life...of course not your life...you just...you said work was boring...so you need something with...I don't know...excitement." Regina continued to stutter. 

Gosh, what was she talking about? Distracting Emma from those M-Rated books didn't go as smooth as she had thought. Why hadn't she just stopped after the word 'thriller’? 

"Death is exciting?" Emma said with a smirk. "And I was once worried about a serial killer entering this apartment. Now I think I should be scared for my own life." 

"No...I just...I did...I'm..." 

Emma began to laugh. "You are really so cute when you don't know what to say." 

Regina's face turned into a dark shade of red. She had no idea why Emma kept insisting that it was cute whenever she made a fool out of herself, but it made Regina's heart race nonetheless. 

"A crime book, huh?" Emma asked while turning back to the bookshelf. "Which one?" 

"How about..." Regina's eyes scanned the shelf until she found what she was looking for. "...this one?" 

"You're the book expert." Emma said while taking the book Regina handed her. "Guess now I have something to do with my boring life...I meant during work." 

Emma was clearly teasing, but Regina still felt guilty about her previous comment. 

"I didn't mean it like that...you are not boring....I...I like spending time with you." Regina admitted and blushed involuntarily. She avoided to look at Emma instead she focused really hard on the bookshelf in front of her. 

"I do like spending time with you too." 

Regina's head snapped towards Emma. Much like Regina before, Emma was looking at the bookshelf, but Emma had this affectionate smile on her lips and Regina's heart almost exploded. Her heart was laughing and jumping and cheering and dancing and a lot of other emotions were running through her body, but she couldn't quite define all of them at that moment. 

"You do?" Regina heard herself asking, still overflowing with emotions. 

Emma chuckled and turned to look at Regina. "No, I just come for the free food." 

"Idiot." Regina mumbled, but smiled nonetheless. 

Emma smiled back and for a moment it seemed like the world stood still. Only the two of them existed right now, smiling at each other. 

"I should probably go." Emma whispered after a while of comfortable silence, her eyes settled on the book in her hand. Regina had to suppress the feeling of disappointment. She wouldn't mind Emma staying over. Hell, she wouldn't mind just standing here the whole night as long as it meant she would see this gorgeous smile of Emma’s. "Thanks for the book. Don't worry, I will bring it back in one piece and without stains. I guess I should..." She said and motioned towards the hallway. 

"Yeah..." 

They walked in silence to the front door and as they reached it, Emma turned around again. "It was fun today. I hope I didn't destroy the actual plans you had today." 

"I hadn’t planned anything. Besides, you can come over anytime you want...or call." 

"Thank you." 

For the second time this evening Emma stepped forward and put her arms around Regina. It was weird for a moment, because Regina hadn't seen that coming and she hadn't known where to put her hands, but then her arms were around Emma and everything seemed perfect. Her chin rested on Emma's shoulder and she could smell Emma's shampoo. Closing her eyes, Regina was happy to just hold Emma, to feel her relax against her, knowing that Emma had opened up to her today and trusted her. They hugged for a long time, neither of them daring to say a word and ruining the moment. 

Eventually they parted and Regina immediately missed the contact. It somehow seemed too long to be just a friendly hug, but Regina didn't dare question it. 

"Have nice dreams." Emma said and again there was an affectionate smile directed towards Regina. 

"You too." 


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let’s face it, even a turtle would write faster than I do XD  
> Thanks to witheveryheartbeat for correcting this chapter^^

**The Roommate Chapter 15**

Regina was full of enthusiasm as she entered the bar Kathryn had suggested for their 'training'. She was determined to ace whatever test Kathryn had prepared. But before they could start, Regina had to tell Kathryn about her encounter with Emma yesterday. All day long, Regina had hovered around the speed-dial-button, just wanting to tell her best friend every detail about the previous day. But she knew she would end up talking with Kathryn for two or three hours and that was just not possible on a work day. 

Thanks to the early evening hour there weren't many customers in the bar, so Regina spotted her friend easily. Kathryn was sitting at a table at the very end of the room with her mobile phone in her hand. Almost running past the other tables, Regina hurried to her best friend, sitting down opposite her friend so fast, that Kathryn looked up startled. 

"She hugged me...and we had dinner together...she smells good...and she said she liked spending time with me...she brought pastries as an apology...she thinks I'm cute...actually we hugged twice...and she has an incredible gorgeous smile..." 

Still startled, Kathryn opened and closed her mouth a few a times before she was able to answer. "Wh...What? Who? Emma? She said what? Wait? When did you see her?" 

Regina ignored Kathryn's question and continued to tell what she had wanted to tell her best friend all day long. "We had a moment. We just stood there and smiled at each other and...I think she might like me..." 

Kathryn put her hands above Regina's and squeezed them to get Regina's attention. "What the hell happened?! And start from the beginning!" 

Taking a deep breath, Regina gathered her thoughts, thinking about where to start. "I got a text yesterday from Emma, asking what I was doing..." 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 

"Stop looking at me like that." Regina said and took one of the potato wedges which stood between them and dipped it into the sour cream before it vanished into her mouth. They had talked for at least two hours and the bar was crowded with people now. Regina's early enthusiasm had dampened after she had listed all of her mistakes she had made yesterday, wondering why Emma enjoyed spending time with her at all. 

"Like what?" Kathryn asked innocently, but she had this certain glint in her eyes, the one that Regina knew too well. 

"Like you're already planning my wedding with Emma." 

"But you two would look so gorgeous in white dresses." Kathryn said dreamily and she looked like she was miles away. Probably picturing the dresses, which flowers there would be and the place where the wedding would be held. 

Regina rolled her eyes and clicked her fingers in front of Kathryn's face. "Stop that! We're not there yet. Haven't you listened to me?" 

Now it was Kathryn's turn to roll her eyes. "I did! Hugging, flirting, sharing moments. You two could as well be married by now." 

"You forgot to add acting like a fool, embarrassing myself and being unable to form correct sentences." 

Kathryn waved it off with her hand. "It's what makes you sweet or as Emma would say _'cute'_. Even if I don't know why you are acting like that. You've never been so clumsy before." 

"Your training will fix this, right?" Regina asked hopefully. "Whatever it is you have planned for today, it will help me sway Emma off of her feet, right?" 

"When this night is over you’ll be a Prince Charming, trust me." Kathryn said and pulled out a piece of paper from her bag. "I made a list what you have to do." 

Even though Regina saw the paper upside down, she could still read the big headline. "How to turn your idiot best friend into Prince Charming." Regina read aloud and threw a disapproving look towards Kathryn. "Really?" 

"You want my help or not?" 

Grumbling, Regina nodded and stuffed a few more potato wedges into her mouth. At times like this she wondered why she was still friends with Kathryn, but it was also at times like this that she was grateful that she had someone like Kathryn in her life. 

"Step 1: Make her feel good." 

Regina choked, her lungs began to burn and she coughed a few times before she felt like she could breathe again. A heavy blush spread across her face. "Kathryn! What the hell? Aren't we missing a few steps here?" 

Kathryn grinned smugly. "I meant compliment her. Tsk tsk tsk Regina, what were you thinking?” 

"What was I supposed to think with those choice of words?" Regina accused, but Kathryn continued unimpressed. 

"Let's put those naughty thoughts of you away for a minute. Step 1 is very essential, do not just compliment her physical appearance or else she will think you are just after her body." 

Regina nodded. There was no denying that Emma's physical appearance was very, very attractive, but the last thing Regina wanted was a quick one-night stand. 

"Step 2: Talk about topics she is interested in. That one shouldn't be too hard, just ask her some things about the stuff she likes. Should be easy." 

Regina nodded again. That step sounded really easy. Emma watched tons of TV shows, shouldn't be too hard to ask a few questions about them. 

"Step 3: Hold eye contact." Kathryn put the paper aside for a moment while she looked at Regina. "Remember the time we had this staring contest? We managed to look at each other for what felt like an eternity." 

Regina grinned as she remembered the time Kathryn was referring to. "It was for 1 minute and 27 seconds." 

"Felt like forever. Anyway, you have that part covered too. After all, you won that contest. Let's continue. Step 4: Smile with your eyes." 

Furrowing her brows, Regina looked skeptically at Kathryn. "How am I going to do that?" 

"How can you not know how to smile with your eyes? Like...you know...just..." 

"Hey girls." 

Flinching and almost getting a heart attack, Regina knocked her drink over. Kathryn flinched as well, but she was quick in covering her bearings, her hands snatching the piece of paper that still laid on the table. Next to their table stood no other than Emma Swan. 

"Emma! You're early." 

"Sorry." Emma said, but it was directed at Regina who stared wide-eyed at Emma. What was Emma doing here? How big were the odds that Emma just happened to walk into the exact same bar Kathryn and herself were? Wait, had Kathryn just said Emma was early? Oh no! Kathryn had planned this all along! Of course this evening wouldn't contain just boring theory, Kathryn had to spice things up and threw her out in the cold open water! 

"I will buy you a new drink." 

Regina was suddenly aware that she was still staring at Emma and her cheeks turned red. She had to force herself to look away, which was difficult since Emma had those princess curls which made her look so much more desirable. "What? Oh...I...no...you..." Regina kept her eyes on the mess in front of her, trying to clean it with napkins. Thankfully most of the drink had landed on the table and not on her. 

"Sorry again. What were you drinking? I will order it for you." 

"Nothing...ehm...I mean...don't....drink...ehm...I..." How were sentences formed again? 

Emma chuckled and sat down at the other end of the table with Kathryn to her left and Regina to her right. "I will ask you again in a minute." 

Meanwhile Kathryn looked at Regina with an arched eyebrow and a _'what-is-wrong-with-you'_ look. Regina looked helpless, completely overtaken by the situation. Shaking her head, Kathryn turned towards Emma. "I hope you're willing to drive us, I don't think either of us should sit behind a wheel." To empathize her point, Kathryn lifted her glass, much to Regina's confusion. They hadn't had that much alcohol, in fact it has only been one alcoholic cocktail each of them had ordered until now. Well, in her case only half of it had made it into her system. And what was it with the driving? Would they leave? Together? Where would they go? What the hell had Kathryn planned? 

"Have you guys decided on a movie yet?" Emma asked. 

"Movie? We are going to the cinema?" Regina threw in rather confused. Even Emma knew more about this night than she herself did. 

"I told you we were going to the cinema later. Seriously Regina, aren't you listening to me?" 

Regina looked at Kathryn, then at Emma and back to Kathryn. No, definitely not! She would have remembered being told to go watch a movie with her crush in tow! 

"Anyway, let's see what movie we could watch." Kathryn said and grabbed her phone. It was then that Regina remembered the piece of paper with instructions to turn her into Prince Charming. Suddenly she got really warm and Regina scanned the table with her eyes. Had Kathryn hid it? Or had Emma seen the embarrassing piece of wood? It wasn't on the table anymore. That would mean Kathryn was fast enough to hide it right? 

"So what kind of cocktail do you want?" 

"What?" When Regina looked irritated at Emma, she was greeted with a beautiful smile, one that caught her breath. Emma looked stunning. She was about to shrug off her red leather jacket and revealed a blue sweater, one that made her eyes look like an ocean. Her princess curls felt around her shoulders and she pushed a few of them behind her ear. 

"I owe you a drink, so what do you want to have?" Emma repeated with this stunning smile of hers. 

"Ehm...water." 

Emma's smile widened. "I doubt there was water in that glass before." And she motioned to the empty glass Regina had knocked over in her surprise. 

A blush crept upon Regina's cheeks. "Ehm...well..." She kicked at Kathryn's feet, a silent cry for help. 

"Au...I mean, wow, the movie choice isn't that great. Wanna take a look?" Kathryn said and handed her phone to Emma. 

"Let's see, how about..." 

But Regina and Kathryn had their own kind of conversation, communicating only with their eyes. Having a lot of _'What are you doing?'_ and _'Why aren't you helping me'_ looks between them. It was a frustrating conversation on Regina's part, why couldn't Kathryn give her a heads up for once?! 

"...Bring him home? Goosebumps?..." 

Emma was oblivious to the silent conversation between Kathryn and Regina, eyes glued to the mobile phone in her hand, reading movie titles. 

"...or we could watch the newest James Bond?" 

"A romance would be nice." Kathryn threw in and Regina was immediately against it. She was too occupied with her own romantic feelings, she didn't need to watch some sappy romance movie right now. Especially with Emma by her side. 

"Bond sounds great." Regina countered and got an angry look from Kathryn. 

"Excuse me for a minute." Kathryn said, stood up and took her phone with her as she walked in the directions of the bathrooms. It was a rather abrupt departure and both Emma and Regina looked confused after Kathryn. 

"How was your day?" Regina asked to defeat the upcoming silence. 

"I haven't really had time to read the book if that is your secret question behind this question." Emma answered with a smile. "I have only read the first few pages." 

"I wasn't...How do you like it?" This particular book had seemed right at the time she had handed it to Emma. Now she was unsure whether Emma would like it or not. Maybe another one would have been better. 

"Like I said, I have only read the first few pages. I'm not that experienced with books, so I can't judge the writing style yet. Give me a couple more days and we can talk about it." Emma motioned towards Regina's bag. "Don't you want to see who it is?" 

Regina's phone had beeped three times already, but Regina had ignored it in favor of talking with Emma. "Sorry." Regina said and grabbed her phone, she frowned when she saw three messages, all from Kathryn. 

**Bond??? Really??? You two need a romance movie to set up the mood!!**

**I will bring up some excuse to leave, so the two of you will be alone!!! Take advantage of it!!**

**Don't forget the steps you just learned!!!**

"Something interesting?" 

Regina was quick at throwing her phone back into her purse. "No. Not at all. Just...work stuff." 

"Work stuff? At this hour?" Emma asked suspiciously. 

"Yes...they...well...I was...I needed a special report today and couldn't find it and my co-worker just informed me he had found it." 

"And he needed to send you three messages?" 

"He was...enthusiastic that he had finally found it. So...ehm..." Regina paused, Emma didn't seem to buy the story. Maybe it was best to change the topic. "For dead cells your hair looks rather good." 

Emma' eyes grew wide and she gaped at her. "I...what?" 

That wasn't the right line. Oh gosh. She should have practiced this before. She needed to save the situation by saying something good about Emma's hair. "That's not...I mean...it does look like hair porn, even though you're not a porn star...but hair porn doesn't mean you have to be a porn star...it's...ehm..." Oh dear lord. This wasn't going smooth at all. Emma still gaped at her, probably not sure if she should be offended or complimented. Where was Kathryn? 

Regina tore her eyes away from the still shocked and wordless Emma to search the crowd for Kathryn. She could see Kathryn a few feet away from the table, rooted in place, mouthing _'What the...?'_ and dropping her hand in defeat. Kathryn quickly approached the table and sat down rescuing the situation by taking over the conversation. "So I just spoke with Frederick, he..." 

"Right, I forgot to tell you he had called." Emma said, still looking confused to Regina, but there was a smile at the corner of her lips. But Regina didn't dare to get her hopes up. She was lucky Emma hadn't slapped her yet. 

"He what?" 

"Well after you had left the phone rang and picked it up. I told Frederick that we are going to the cinema later, he will meet us there." 

"He will?" Kathryn asked disbelieving. Clearly meeting with Frederick would have been her escape for the evening. Regina sighed a breath of relief, at least Kathryn's escape plan was ruined now and she wouldn't have to be alone with Emma. 

"We still have an hour before we have to go. Drinks?" Emma asked and waved a waitress over. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 

They had parked not far from the cinema, Emma had driven them although Regina would have been able to drive herself. She had considered telling a lie and saying she felt sick and needed to get home. But before she could say anything Emma had gone to the bathroom and Kathryn had given her some kind of pep talk and something about _'the night is still young'_ and _'you got this'_ and maybe she had even threatened Regina to unfriend her for eternity if she didn't keep it together and try seducing Emma. So here she was, walking the few meters to the cinema and regretting her decision. Regina also regretted that she had left her jacket in her own car. She hadn't bothered to take it with her when she hurried to tell Kathryn everything about the previous night. Her rocking chair would be so comfortable right now, she could hide under a warm blanket and tune out the whole world and forget about her stupid brain and her stupid mouth and the stupid words that came out of it. 

"Here." Emma suddenly said and shrugged off her red leather jacket, handing it to Regina. 

"I'm fine." Regina lied. She had managed to avoid talking to Emma in the bar, leaving all the conversation between Kathryn and Emma. As promised Emma had paid for her drink, but Regina suspected that it was only because of Emma's sense of duty. 

"You're shivering." 

"I'm..." Regina didn't get a chance to finish her sentence. Emma had put the jacket around Regina's shoulders. "Thanks" She said with a shy smile and got a stunning smile in return. Regina put her arms through the sleeves and zipped the jacket. The jacket was still warm and whenever Regina inhaled, she was greeted with Emma's scent. It was making her lightheaded. It almost made her forget the horrible mistake she had made earlier. Almost. But if Emma shared her jacket, it meant she wasn't too offended, right? They walked the rest of the way in silence until they stood in front of the cinema. 

"So, where is Frederick meeting us?" Emma asked and looked around. 

It was when Emma had her back turned towards them, that Kathryn looked angry, nudged Regina forcefully and nodded towards Emma. Regina hadn't followed any steps since the disaster with the compliment. She shook her head, not wanting to embarrass herself even more, but Kathryn's face got even angrier. When Emma turned around to look at them, Kathryn's face was angelic again. 

"I don't know where we’re supposed to meet him. I will just call him, excuse me for a moment." 

Kathryn walked a few feet away to get some privacy or better, give some privacy to Regina and Emma. Regina got nervous within seconds. She stood alone with a beautiful Emma and she was dressed in Emma's warm leather jacket and Emma was looking at her with this affectionate smile again. 

"So are you secretly a Bond fan?" Emma asked to bypass the silence. 

"Not really." Regina replied and looked if Kathryn was coming back soon, but her friend motioned with her hands to go for Emma. Regina sighed, the least she could do was try. Yesterday had been a rather good day with Emma, why should today be any different? Smiling with one's eyes couldn't be so hard. 

"Are you a bond fan?" She asked Emma in return. 

Emma's forehead wrinkled in confusion. "Everything alright? Do you have something in your eyes?" 

"What? No. Why?" Regina looked over Emma's shoulder to Kathryn. Her best friend shook her head in disbelief, a hand coming up to cover her face. Regina's shoulder slumped in defeat, whatever she did, she did it wrong. Despair seeped into her every cell and frustrated tears sting behind her eyes. 

"Let me see." Emma said soft and got closer. Very close. And Regina forgot how to breathe. Emma's hand was on Regina's cheek, her thumb grazing at the edge of Regina's eye. They stood so close, that their nose were almost touching. From this close, Emma was even more mesmerizing. "Looks fine t..." 

"Hey girls. Where's Kathryn?" A manly voice greeted from behind them. Regina sprang away from Emma, which left Emma dumbstruck standing with her hand still mid-air. Regina got red all over her face, regretting her impulsive behavior. 

"Hey Frederick." Emma greeted and forced herself to smile at him but she did look hurt and retrieved her hand to her side. Guilt settled in Regina's stomach. "Kathryn is over there, she wanted to call you." 

Frederick waved to his girlfriend and Kathryn walked over to them. "What are we watching?" he asked. 

"Bond." Emma answered short, still looking at Regina warily and unsure. 

A joyful smile was on Frederick's face. "Awesome! I was trying to convince Kathryn for days to go watch it with me." 

"Frederick. There you are! I just called you." 

"Hey babe, I just heard the great news. We are watching Bond!" 

"...yeah..." Kathryn's enthusiasm wasn't very big, neither was Regina's. Once again she wanted to vanish. This evening was a disaster and every encounter with Emma ended worse than the one before. Yesterday had been great with Emma, so why was today all awkward again? 

Frederick led the way into the cinema, being so happy that he went to buy the tickets for everyone. Kathryn accompanied him, that's why Emma and Regina stood awkwardly beside each other. 

"I'm...I get scared pretty easily." It wasn't quite true, but it was the only explanation Regina could think of to tell Emma so that she didn't think she was rejecting her. 

"I know." Emma said soft and leaned in to nudge their shoulders together. "Maybe I should start sending you texts before meeting you. _Attention: Very dangerous blonde is on her way too you. Predicted encounter in 3 minutes._ " 

Regina chuckled, glad that Emma was still able to joke around with her instead of being offended. "I bet I would still manage to knock my drink over even with your advance warning." 

Emma shrugged it off. "That's okay. I will buy you another one whenever it happens." 

"Thank you." Regina whispered quietly. 

"Anytime." Emma replied and smiled with that kind of smile that left Regina breathless. "So? Should we buy popcorn?" 

Regina nodded and they trotted to buy popcorn, or better, Emma bought popcorn. Regina was still too nervous to eat anything. As soon as Kathryn and Frederick joined them and bought their stuff too, they headed to the cinema hall. When they had found their seats, Regina found herself sandwiched between Kathryn and Emma. It was a small relieve that they had normal seats and not loveseats. On the armrest between her and Emma stood the popcorn Emma had bought. Of course Emma had offered to share her popcorn, so every now and then Regina took a handful of it. She was careful not to grab it when Emma's hand was in the bowl, Regina didn't want some classic romantic cliché where their hands would meet, with her luck it would probably get awkward. 

"I'm still wearing your jacket." Regina suddenly realized after the movie had started. 

"That's okay." 

Getting out of the jacket while still sitting proofed to be difficult and when one of her arms was finally free, Regina managed to hit the popcorn bowl. Within seconds the floor before them was covered with popcorn and the bowl laid on the ground. 

"I'm so sorry...I will buy you new popcorn." 

"It's fine, you don't have to." 

"I'm..." 

"Sshhh, be quiet! The movie started!" It was somewhere from behind them and Regina got even more uncomfortable than she already was. 

Emma leaned over and put a hand on Regina's arm. "It's really okay." 

Regina nodded, close to tears and managed to hand the jacket over to Emma without any further complications. Why was everything going wrong today? 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 

"Forget about you becoming Prince Charming." Kathryn said after the movie. They stood in the hallway of the cinema, waiting for the other two who were in the bathrooms. 

"You're really motivating me you know." Regina answered dryly. She knew she had screwed this whole part with complimenting and smiling and everything else. The movie was over and Regina just wanted to go home and hide in her apartment. With her skills, she would never get Emma to fall in love with her. She was lucky if Emma still wanted to spend time with her. 

Kathryn rolled her eyes. "You can't be Prince Charming, because there can't be two Prince Charmings." 

"Huh?" 

"She smiles at you, she gave her jacket away, she compliments you and she even shared her popcorn with you. After tonight I'm pretty sure Emma is Prince Charming...or Princess Charming, which leaves you to be Snow White." 

Regina grimaces at the thought of this particular Disney princess. "And living with dwarves? I don't think so." 

"Dwarves?" Emma repeated and Regina turned around with a blush. 

"Nothing." She said at the same time as Kathryn said. "I compared her with Snow White." 

"Kathryn!" Regina growled, but Kathryn shrugged unimpressed. 

"I don't know." Emma said and tilted her head to look at Regina. "Snow White doesn't seem to fit." 

"Thank you." But Regina wasn't sure why she still felt a sting at those words. 

Frederick joined them and together they walked out of the cinema. While they walked they talked about the movie, or rather, the others talked about the movie. Regina just wanted to go home already and forget this horrible day. Kathryn was right, she would never be a Prince Charming. Even though they had different reasons why they believed it. 

"Emma, would you mind driving Regina home?" Kathryn asked with a polite smile. Regina's head whipped towards her best friend, ready to object, but Emma was faster. 

"Course not." Emma answered quickly before Regina even got the chance to open her mouth. 

They said their goodbyes to Frederick and Kathryn and then walked to Emma's car. Emma handed over her jacket once more without saying a word and Regina couldn't deny that Emma was indeed a Princess Charming. 

"Do you want me to drive you home or should I drive you back to the bar to get your car?" 

"Home. I'm rather tired." It wasn't even a lie. She was tired. Tired of messing up. Tired of being so stupid around Emma. Tired of never saying or doing the right thing. 

The drive was rather quiet. Regina was too depressed and beat to actually have a conversation. Emma didn't find a parking lot in front of the building, but Regina didn't mind to walk the few meters. She was confused when Emma got out of the car too, to walk her to the building. But after all, she shouldn't be surprised, it is what a Prince Charming...Princess Charming does. 

"Thanks for driving me home." Regina said as they almost reached the door. 

"Anytime." 

At the door Regina was about to say goodnight when Emma said, "I was thinking about which fairytale character you would be." 

Regina's heart speed up in her chest. Her tiredness gone. "And?" 

"Well, you know, I don't think any Disney Princess fits you." 

Disappointment settled in within an instant. Of course she wasn't some kind of Disney Princess, she was too clumsy to be one. She was probably that stupid sidekick who was useless in every quest. Regina just wanted to go upstairs and hide under her blanket. 

"When you sit in that rocking chair, fully encircled with reading a book, you look more like a queen." 

Regina lifted her head, seeing Emma blush and looking to the ground. Regina was speechless. 

"Well...I guess I should..." Emma said after a painful long amount of silence, motioning towards the street. She was still blushing and not meeting Regina's eyes. 

"Yeah..." Regina breathed out. Not fully aware what exactly Emma had told her just now. 

"Sleep well." Emma whispered, meeting Regina's eyes for a brief moment before she turned around to walk to her car. 

Regina stood rooted in place. 

_more like a queen_

And for a fleeting moment Regina wished to be Snow White, because in the end of the story, it’s Snow White who gets Prince Charming. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don’t despair, the next chapter will be better ;-)


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year \^.^/  
> Thanks to Gravity In the Air for correcting this chapter^^

**The Roommate Chapter 16**

Looking out of the car window, Regina could see the diner Emma was working at. She couldn't see Emma, only two empty tables near the windows were visible. The building looked like its best days were long over, the paint was falling off the wall, only half of the sign which indicated it was a diner was still hanging and the windows looked like any little wind blow would carry them out of their frames. Regina wondered why anybody would willingly enter the building, let alone why Emma had chosen to work there. 

But questioning Emma's choice of workplace wasn't why she was here today. Regina had a sleepless night behind her, were the words _more like a queen_ had repeated in her mind over and over again. Actually it wasn’t just those words that kept on replay. The whole previous evening had kept Regina restless. She had been angry with Kathryn, she still was. Even though her mobile phone had flashed Kathryn's name various times, Regina hadn't picked it up. If Kathryn had just given her a heads-up, then maybe she wouldn't have made a fool out of herself. Regina was also frustrated with her own clumsiness and speechlessness, and there had been so many good responses she had thought of when she had lain in bed. Why couldn't she had thought of them earlier? 

Somewhere between 3AM and 4AM, Regina had came to the realization that a queen wouldn't lay in bed and pity herself. Queens were regal, strong, elegant, determined, and beautiful. If Emma compared her to a queen instead of some airhead Disney princess then Regina would be a queen. When the alarm clock beeped, Regina had made up her mind. She would visit Emma at work today and try to clean up the mess she had made yesterday. The whole morning Regina had spent playing out different scenarios and thinking about sentences she could say. This time she would be prepared, come what may. 

She had planned out everything in her head. She would step inside the diner, confident and with her head held high, greeting Emma with a simple _'Hey'_. Emma would be surprised, asking what Regina was doing here and Regina would answer: _'I was in the area and I remembered I still owed you this'_. She would then give Emma the paper bag and Emma would either ask _'what's inside?'_ or _'aren't you supposed to be at work?'_. For both scenarios Regina had an answer. It was either: _'just take a look'_ or _'I decided to spent my lunchtime with you'_. After this point it got a bit trickier, the possible things that could happen or the things that could be said increased exponential. Still, Regina was prepared. She had spent the whole morning, at home and then at work, with planning out every little sentence that could be said. This time she would ace it. 

Straightening her shoulders, Regina glanced again towards the building Emma supposedly worked. She had worked out so many different scenarios, there couldn't go anything wrong today. Picking up her bag and the paper bag from the passenger seat and making sure everything was still alright, Regina was ready to go. She exited her car and crossed the street. When she had walked up the four stairsteps that led to the front door, she was able to look inside. Her hand was already on the doorknob, but for a split second she just stood outside to scan the diner. 

The diner had as many customers as a pool on a cold, rainy autumn day. There was a counter at one side of the room and tables on the other side. Regina wasn't sure whether she was glad to see Emma standing behind the counter or be nervous about it. She took another second to observe Emma. How her head was bowed, looking at something in front of her. How her usually free hair was tamed with a ponytail. How the color of her green apron had already faded. 

_more like a queen_

Regina took a deep breath before she let the air out in a long motion. With more confidence than she felt, she opened the door, head held high and stepped inside. The bell above the door rang with a dump sound, but Emma kept her head and eyes down, saying a half hearted "Welcome". 

"Hey." 

Emma's head snapped upwards rapidly. It was easy to pinpoint the exact moment Emma realized it was her and not some stranger. First she blinked a few times, confusion written all over her face, then her face lit up and a genuine smile was on it. Regina's heart actually skipped a few beats as she saw Emma's happy face. 

"Regina!? What are you doing here?" Emma rounded the counter, coming towards Regina, for a moment it looked like Emma was going to hug her. 

"This." Regina blurted and stretched out her arm with the paper bag in her hand, keeping Emma from coming any closer. Her heart had literally stopped for a moment. Okay, maybe she hadn't thought of the possibility of Emma trying to hug her. 

Emma looked irritatingly at her, then towards the paper bag in Regina's hand, and then back at Regina. She was seemingly unsure of what to do. "And this is...?" 

"For you...it's...take it." Oh gosh. Had she really ruined the chance to hug Emma? Why hadn't she thought of the possibility of a greeting hug before? Where was the restart button? 

"Ehm...okay." Emma took the paper bag and peered cautiously inside. "A bear claw!" She exclaimed excitedly, eyes glowing. 

"I...I owed you...for my 'duh' reply...when you told me you..." 

A grin formed on Emma's face, she gestured towards a nearby table and sat down, already biting into the pastry. "If I remember correctly I said 'bear claws'. It is clearly plural so you still owe me at least another one." 

Regina gaped at Emma, still standing two feet away from the table Emma had sat down. _Bear claw **s**? _ Why hadn't she thought about that before? Why hadn't she brought more than one? Why hadn't she bought all the bear claws the shop had offered? 

"You okay?" Emma asked between bites. 

"I...uh...yes." Regina sat down opposite of Emma. "I also thought you might want this back." Regina stated as she retrieved Emma's red leather jacket from her bag. "I kind of forgot to give it back yesterday." 

"Damn." Emma said with a grin. 

"What?" Regina furrowed her brows in confusion. This wasn't one of the reactions she had thought of, when thinking about how to give the jacket back. Why was nothing going according to plan with Emma? 

"I had already planned to come over and pick it up..." Emma said and her grin widened when she added. "...around dinner time." 

Regina laughed wholeheartedly. "Let me guess, you wanted to have another home cooked meal?" 

"Actually, I was going to bring Chinese. A3, B5, and some spring rolls." 

Regina was impressed that Emma still remembered their order. "You can still do that." She heard herself saying. "We can watch TV and talk." 

"I would very much like that." Emma replied with a smile. 

"Me too." 

They gazed at each other for a long moment, before Emma looked bashful away. Her look changed when she looked at the half eaten bear claw in her hand. "Oh crap. You're here for lunch and I didn't offer you anything. What a terrible waitress I am. I can make you scrambled eggs or grilled cheese or..." 

"You? Don't you have a cook who makes all the dishes?" Regina asked irritated. Diners usually had someone who prepared the food. 

"Well, there is, but Grumpy isn't known for being an excellent cook." 

"Grumpy?" 

"That's not really his name, but it suits him really well. He is always in a bad mood, and he puts way too much salt in every meal." 

"You know what they say, right? When the meal is too salty then the cook is in love." Regina offered. 

Emma scoffed. "Not in this case. Trust me. So what do you want to eat? I can make you something." Emma put her half eaten bear claw down, ready to get up and make lunch for Regina. 

"I'm actually alright, thank you." 

"You don't want to eat anything? Is it my bad cooking?" 

"No! Why would you think that?" Emma shrugged, looking away. Regina's heart clenched and she reached over the table to squeeze Emma's hand. "You are not a bad cook." 

"My stove once exploded,” Emma informed as she bit her lip. 

"WHAT?" Regina's eyes widened in shock. She didn’t know what shocked her more, the fact that Emma’s stove once exploded or that Emma was sharing something about herself. It was a rare occurrence when Emma shared her past. Regina treasured those moments. 

Emma rolled her shoulders and looked around the diner. "Okay, maybe not exploded. More like what was inside exploded." 

"Now I'm unsure whether I want you near my stove ever again." Regina teased, a smile splitting her face while her thumb stroked across Emma's knuckles so that Emma knew she was only joking. 

Emma mustered up a small smile. "I think as long as stay away from ever trying to make tortillas your stove will be fine." 

Regina eyebrows shot up. "How did you manage to blow up a tortilla wrap?" 

"Not wrap, I was making the Spanish tortilla which looks like some egg-potato-cake. It wasn't really the tortilla which exploded. I think the bowl had a scratch. I don't know. I was putting the tortilla in the stove, and went to search for a series to watch, and suddenly there was a loud boom coming from the kitchen. When I checked the bowl was in pieces and the tortilla was sticking to the stove walls." 

Regina chuckled, still stroking Emma's hand. "At least you didn't burn the house while cooking." 

Emma arched an eyebrow. "I thought you only burnt the cake, not the house." 

"Good memory." Regina remarked while patting Emma's hand. "Remember, regardless who asks you, stick to the story about me only burning the cake." 

Emma's eyes grew wide and she gasped. "Wait! Are you telling me you **did** burn the house?" 

For a moment Regina feigned offense. "Of course not. I only burnt the cake." But she then winked, well aware that her statement was suffering on believability. 

"You are...how...I can't....this is..." 

Regina chuckled again, amused to see how Emma tried to wrap her head about that information. She could literally see the gears in Emma's mind rotating, trying to understand whether Regina had burnt the cake or the house. 

"Hey! Where's that black liquid you call coffee?" 

Regina startled and retracted her hand. She looked around and saw the source of the rough voice. There was a man sitting in a booth at the very end of the diner, half hidden behind some strange plant. She must have overlooked him when she had entered the building. 

"I will be right back." Emma hopped up to fetch the coffee pot from the counter before she went to the man and refilled his cup with coffee. 

Craning her neck, Regina could see half of the figure behind the plant. What she saw wasn't exactly something she liked. The man looked like some ruffian, all muscles and no brain. Regina's first instinct was to grab Emma by the hand and get as much distance between them and Mr. I-will-beat-you-up-if-you-even-look-at-me. The thought that a few minutes ago Emma had been alone in the diner with this man send unpleasant shivers down Regina's spine. 

It didn't take long for Emma to return back to Regina, a smile on her face. "Can I at least get you something to drink?" 

Regina motioned towards the pot Emma still held. "Some of that?" 

"Whoa, I don't want to kill you." 

"That strong?" 

"That disgusting," Emma whispered. 

Regina's lips curved into a smile, remembering how Emma had already told her how disgusting the coffee was. "How about you bring me a cup and I can see for myself." 

Emma sighed dramatically as she turned to get a cup for Regina. "Guess I have to eat alone tonight." 

"It can't be that bad." 

Emma threw her a look over her shoulder, clearly communicating that it was indeed so bad. It took a moment until Emma was back at their table, setting down a cup and a glass of apple juice in front of Regina. Emma leaned back in her seat, arms crossed and one eyebrow lifted. "Any last words you want me to pass on to your loved ones?" 

Shaking her head with a smile at Emma's silliness, Regina held the cup of coffee to her lips. Normally the scent of coffee was refreshing and calming, but this one smelled like...like...Regina couldn't quite place the smell, but it reminded her of something that should have been thrown away days ago. She cast an unsure glance over the rim of the cup, seeing Emma's expression soften. 

"You don't have to drink it." 

Regina scoffed. They had talked way too often about the terrible coffee Emma had to serve. She sure as hell would try it to find out how bad it was. With an act of false bravado, Regina took a mouthful of coffee. 

And spit it out immediately. 

"Ugh..." Never in her entire life Regina had spit out food or drinks, her time as toddler not counting. This...this was the worst thing she had ever tasted. It was like a rugby team had used her mouth as a rack for their dirty sportswear, or like she was right in the middle of a 4 acre garbage dump with nothing but biowaste rotting around her. Or like...gosh, Regina didn't want to think about what else it reminded her of. She quickly put the cup of disgusting coffee as far away from her as possible, and grabbed the apple juice. Regina downed half of the glass in one swig, but the ugly taste wouldn't leave her mouth. 

"You okay?" 

Regina was surprised to find a genuine worried looking Emma staring at her. She had thought Emma would be laughing and telling her _'told you'_. Instead Emma had uncrossed her arms, one hand almost reaching Regina's, but it had stopped an inch before. 

"That..." Regina shuddered as she looked at the cup."...thing...is..." She struggled to find words to describe the black liquid that now looked like a cup of pure oil. 

"Disgusting?" Emma offered with a grin. 

It was a blunt understatement, but since Regina couldn't come up with another word, she simply nodded and took another gulp of the apple juice. It did nothing to erase the foul taste in her mouth. "How can he drink this?" Regina whispered while she motioned to the hidden man behind the plant. He surely must have lost all his tastebuds in some terrible accident. 

Emma shrugged as she moved the half eaten bear claw that still laid in front of her towards Regina. "Something to get rid of the terrible taste in your mouth?" 

Regina was about to decline. She had bought the bear claw specifically for Emma, knowing how much she liked the pastry. Regina's mouth though tasted like wastewater, so she accepted the bear claw gladly, hoping she would finally get rid of the taste in her mouth. 

"You're not drinking that stuff, are you?" 

Emma shook her head. "I only drink water while I'm here." 

Regina was about to respond that it was probably the safest choice. This diner looked more like a place where drug exchanges where held or the mafia planned how to get rid of their next target. Food and drinks shouldn’t be consumed in such a location. They shouldn’t even be in such a place. Hell, Emma shouldn’t even work in such a place. 

The ringtone of her phone however disturbed her line of thoughts, making her jump a little. Shooting Emma an apologetic sideway glance, Regina rummaged through her bag until she found her phone. _Shit._ The beginning of the number looked like the phone numbers the office had. She had totally forgotten about work. Driving across town to visit Emma had consumed a lot of time, her usually lunch time had almost been over when she had arrived at the diner. 

"Sorry." She said while she took the phone and walked out of the diner. It was never a good sign when someone from worked called. Especially now that she had a lot of work on her desk because she had spent the whole morning daydreaming about how to win Emma over. The last days she hadn't done much work either, her thoughts always distracted with a certain person who watched her now with a curious look from inside. 

"Hello, Mills speaking." 

"Ah Miss Mills, have you gone home already? Are you feeling sick again?" It was one of her nicer colleagues, boring, but nice. 

"Oh...eh...no...I'm just..." extending the lunch break? She paused, thinking about how to explain to her colleague that she wouldn't arrive in the office for at least another 30 minutes. 

"I'm just asking because the boss asked about some tables and I believe the newest numbers must be on your desk somewhere." 

"Oh..." This was bad. Their boss was usually a friendly man, well, at least as long as you were there, did your work, and met the deadlines. She had once witnessed an outburst when one of the employees had missed to update a report that was important. Since then she never wanted to be on the receiving end of such an outburst. 

"You could just tell me where you put the numbers. I will look over it and give it to him." 

Regina breathed out in relief. Yes, this one was definitely one of her nicest colleagues, even if his stories about his dog were boring to no end. She made a mental note to give him a little something for covering for her. They talked for a moment until he had found the papers he needed on her desk and she thanked him for being so nice. She also told him she would be back in about half an hour from her _appointment_ in case their boss would come back and ask about her absence. When she turned to enter the diner again, Regina could see Emma still sitting at the table. Regina send her another apologetic smile before she entered and walked to Emma. 

"Everything okay?" 

"Yes, but it seems my lunch break is over." 

"Oh...of course." 

She could see Emma's disappointment, before Emma turned her back to her in order to return to the counter, where she discarded the cup of disgusting liquid. 

"So." Regina hesitated a moment. "See you tonight?" 

Emma looked up with a hopeful expression. "Really?" When Regina's answer was a quizzled look and furrowed brows, Emma further explained. "I tried to poison you here." She held the cup up she still had in her hand. 

Regina scrunched her nose. "Let's just say you're welcome as long as you don't bring a basket of poisoned apples with you." 

Emma laughed. "Deal." 

The afternoon was like torture for Regina. She desperately wanted to go home and have time to prepare for the evening, but her boss had shown up at some point, asking about her health and eyeing her critically. In the end, he left with a speech about how important one’s health was, which ended somehow with the words that it was also important to be reliable and do one’s work. There was no way she could excuse herself and go home sooner. Besides there was a stack of paperwork she had to catch up on. 

It was best to tell Emma to not come over too soon, otherwise she would have to wait in front of the closed door. Getting her phone out of her bag, Regina saw that Emma had already sent a message, her heart pounding faster already. Regardless that her well planned scenarios didn't work out the slightest, she couldn't wait to see Emma again tonight. Having dinner together and watching TV was kind of becoming a habit Regina looked forward to. The corner of Regina's mouth dropped when she saw what Emma had written. 

**Sorry, can't make it today. Trish didn't show up for her shift and I do have to take over :-(**

_That's okay_ was all Regina had written before deleting it again. Actually it wasn't okay that Trish was going to ruin their evening together. Although Regina didn't even knew who Trish was she already disliked her. 

_How about we meet tomorrow?_

**Sounds great! :-)**

**I forgot to thank you for the book you leant me. I was reading it before you showed up. I've read the first sixty pages so far, and I bet by the time this double shift is over I'll be halfway through the book.**

_Do you like the book? I do have others in case thrillers are not for you._

**Are you kidding me?? I love the book! There is this tension building up which is already captivating me. The first body has already been found, but everyone thinks it was an accident. The little girl found this piece of evidence, but she is unaware of the significance of it. I just hope the detective will see the girl playing with the evidence first and not the killer.**

Regina grinned, knowing how good the story was and how many twists had followed. She had been awake the whole night because she wanted to know what happened next. The sentence 'only one more chapter' had somehow turned into 'I need to finish this book'. She hoped Emma would be equally as captivated by the story. It was one of best thrillers Regina had read and she really wanted Emma to like it too. 

_I'm glad you seem to like the story :-)_

About ten minutes passed before another text from Emma arrived. 

**The detective is visiting the little girl’s house and she is playing with the evidence outside. Any moment he will see her playing :-)**

Regina thought about how to reply, when another text suddenly came. 

**NOOOO!! Dude!! Go outside to the little girl, she is holding the evidence!!**

Regina chuckled as she deleted the text she had already written to respond to the last message, but before she was finished another text arrived. 

**Nooo, the shady lawyer is coming over. Oh dear lord...he goes outside to the girl. Shit...He saw it....and he is taking it away from her...he is going to kill her, right?**

Rolling her eyes, Regina deleted her message again. She clearly was too slow in responding. 

_I won't spoil ;-)_

Thirty minutes later another text arrived. 

**Shady lawyer is dead. Oh damn, I was sure he was the killer...then it has to be the friendly psychologist, right? He seems way too calm and friendly. I'm sure he has a hidden bloodthirsty side.**

Regina smirked, knowing exactly who the killer was, and Emma couldn't be further away from the truth. This time Regina didn't respond, knowing what was about to happen next. She was certain Emma would write another message in 5 minutes. 

**THE GIRL IS DEAD??? Whyyyß??**

They exchanged messages the whole day. Emma sharing what she had just read, and Regina amused at how adorable Emma was. It was like re-reading the book with a commentator. A very sweet commentator. Regina regretted not being able to see Emma during their exchange. She wondered how Emma's face was changing while reading. Did her eyes grew wide while reading a twist? Did she gasp? Was she pushing the book aside with a 'No way! How dare he...'? 

After work, Regina wondered whether she should go home or visit Emma again. Emma would still need to work for a couple more hours. In the end Regina decided against it and headed home. She had already visited Emma at work today, it was probably be weird to show up there again. Their text exchange, however, didn’t stop. Emma kept texting her details from the book and Regina replied to them. Regina was disappointed when Emma announced she would go home and continue reading tomorrow. On the other hand was she relieved Emma could finally leave the diner at 10:13pm. 

The next day Emma had to cancel again. Trish had again not shown up, leaving Emma no other choice than to take over her shift again. 

When Thursday arrived Regina was sure Emma would decline again. Emma had tried to contact Trish for the last two days, but there had been no answer so far. To her surprise Emma sent a text at 4:21pm with a lot of happy smiley faces. Regina had a feeling what this might mean, but she still asked to be sure. 

_Did Trish finally show up?_

**Yes! Let's get a drink somewhere and celebrate ;-)**

They made up plans to meet at a bar both of them knew, Regina was the first who arrived. She sat down at the bar, ordering a drink, she was equally excited and nervous to finally see Emma again. Even though they had sent each other a lot of texts, she missed seeing those green-blue eyes and that stunning smile. 

"Is this seat taken?" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don’t tell anyone, but this tortilla incident really happened to me XD  
> 


End file.
